


Robotech Delta: Drums of War

by StokerFan



Series: Robotech Delta [2]
Category: Macross Delta, Robotech, Robotech Series - Jack McKinney
Genre: Delta Team, Explicit Sex, F/M, Macross - Freeform, Sex, Skull Squadron - Freeform, Unprotected Sex, Walkure, marital sex, miscegenation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-01-29 12:11:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21409990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StokerFan/pseuds/StokerFan
Summary: After twenty-three years of peace, the United Nations is at war. Caught up in this war is a music band and their veritech fighter support team. How will they survive?
Relationships: Barry Wu/Naomi Singh, Hayate Immelmann/Freyja Wion
Series: Robotech Delta [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543405
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Previously on _Robotech Delta_**

“Var syndrome is an outbreak of madness. Those affected violently attack everything around them like a berserker. It was first discovered on the planet Alfheim about four years ago. It has spread throughout the Brisingr Globular Cluster. It was discovered that fold waves from live music can suppress the systems. The Galactic Health Service, acting in concert with the Xaos Corporation, organized the tactical sound unit Super Dimension Venus Walkure, composed of singers who can generate these fold waves.”- Vice Admiral Benjamin Greenfeld, M.D., United Nations Galactic Health Service Commissioned Corps, Surgeon General of the United Nations, in [_Songstress Squad_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20953523/chapters/49818287)

ooooooo

“The name’s Hayate”

“Freyja”

-Hayate Immelman and Freyja Wion, meeting at the Shahal city spaceport

oooooooo

“At around 1730 Shahal City time yesterday, an outbreak of Var syndrome was reported. The tactical sound unit Super Dimension Venus Walkure responded, with support from the Xaos Corporation ship Aether. At that same time, unknown assailants attacked the defensive flotilla around Al Shahal. Several ships, including the lead carrier Agrama, were destroyed. By the time reinforcements defolded around Al Shahal, these assailants were gone”- Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka, United Nations Space Marines, Commander of the Military Assistance Command Brinsingr Globular Cluster

oooooooooo

Another plane is launched from the _Agrama’s_ Gate 11R. Keith quickly destroys the fighter. He then turns a lever on the console of his cockpit, and the plane’s structure shifts around, transforming it into a humanoid shape known as a battloid.

oooooooooo

Freyja is singing along with Walkure. She wonders if her own singing can suppress the Var syndrome.

Suddenly she is face-to-face with a Bioroid.

And it does not look friendly at all.

Her heart races.

Is this the end of her life?

Suddenly, the Bioroid trips. Freyja looks and sees a battloid.

“Hayate!” she yells, knowing that Hayate is at the controls of the battloid.

  


The battloid’s left hand grabs her.

“C’mon!” Hayate yells over a speaker. “I’ll take you to a safe place.”

Above them, Buckeye looks at the sensor screen in the cockpit.

“Active reaction detected!” yells the veritech pilot.

Islander looks at another screen.

“That battloid down there is dancing,” says the Delta team leader, as it does a leg sweep on one of the Bioroids.

Oooooooo

“Reina may be able to enhance these pictures that we can at least know what these fighters are- let alone who sent them. There is something else, Captain. During our concert, this girl started singing. We detected strong fold waves, and she was actually amplifying Mikumo’s fold waves.”- Kaname Buccaneer, leader of the Super Dimension Venus Walkure

Ooooooo=

“I am the leader the Super Dimension Leader Walkure, but you already knew that. You are all finalists for the open position we have at Walkure, but only one of you can be our newest member. I will say this. We are not an ordinary band that plays in dive bars and county fairs. We sing out in the field, among hordes of people infected with Var. We put our lives on the line. So if you would rather sing in a safe environment, the exit is in the front of this room.”- Kaname to Freyja and the other applicants for Walkure

Oooooooo

“Then I welcome you to Walkure World.”- Mikumo Guynemer to Freyja Wion, inviting her to join Walkure

Oooooooo

“You have been promoted to pilot officer. Congratulations, Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman.”- Delta Team Wing Commander Arad Mulder, to Hayate

Ooooooo

“I’ll stay. I want to protect people. I want to protect Walkure; I want to protect those suffering from Var syndrome. I hate killing, but I must make this tradeoff for this greater good.”- Hayate Immelman

Ooooooo

“It is what must be done to achieve Mother’s vision. Not _our_ mother- my birth mother…. Father has told me about the grand vision she had. Imagine, a new galactic order, with peace and prosperity and harmony for ten thousand years.”- Keith to his younger half-brother Heinz

OOOOOOOO

**And now….**

If there is one thing about the band the Super Dimension Venus Walkure, it is that it may have to hold a concert on short notice.

Freyja Wion, the newest band member, is still learning that.

She looks at the mirror. She sees the image of a young girl with bright orange-red hair. She wears this special bodysuit that uses robotechnology to create a holographic skin. A makeup artist that she had gotten to know for the past month-and-a-half or so places the finishing touches.

Xaos Corporation, a company that provides support services for Walkure under contract with the United Nations Galactic Health Service, hires the best, who can apply makeup in less than fifteen minutes.

She steps out of the makeup room. She sees the other band members- Mikumo Guynemer, Kaname Buccaneer, Reina Prowler, and Makina Nakajima.

Her heart races. Walkure’s mission is much more than just awakening the feelings of lots audience.

Their mission is to heal sick people.

They walk along the corridors of Xaos’s interstellar ship _Aether_. They can detect tension from some of the crewmen.

The _Aether_ is well-armed, in case someone decides to attack- which had happened before.

Soon they reach an observation room. They can see the vastness of space beyond the thicK glass, the various space vessels, and a large space habitat. 

“Are you ready, ladies?” asks a dark-haired woman in service khakis.

Freyja recognizes her as Dr. Naomi Singh of the Galactic Health Service’s Commissioned Corps; she is the United Nations Surgeon General’s liaison with Walkure and the Xaos Corporation. The doctor holds a device used to measure bio fold waves, which are generated by certain people- like Walkure- when they sing.

In the meantime, Delta team prepares to take off. They are a team of veritech fighters that provide support for Walkure, all flying Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighters.

“Wing Commander Arad Mulder, callsign Islander, ready for takeoff.”

“Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield, callsign Driller, ready for takeoff.”

“Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang, callsign Chef, ready for takeoff.”

“Flying Officer Mirage Sterling, callsign Buckeye, ready for takeoff.”

Hayate takes a deep breath. He checks his instruments for any warning signs.

There are none.

“Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman, callsign Slacker, ready for takeoff,” he says.

“Air Boss to Slacker, you are clear,” says the air boss.

“Slacker taking off.” Hayate pushes the throttle forward as the_ Aether’s_ flight deck’s catapult launches the Siegfried.

The five Siegfrieds stay in formation around the space carrier.

Inside the _Aether’s_ bridge, Captain Ernest Johnson looks at a huge holographic display.

“Islander to Tour Bus,” he hears Wing Commander Mulder say. “Delta Team is in formation.”

“Roger that, Delta Team,” replies the captain.

“A message from the _Leonard_,” says an officer manning a console on the bridge. “They have a VT flight on standby.”

“Acknowledged,” says Johnson.

Everything is in place.

Kaname gives the signal.

“_Welcome to Walkure World_,” sings Mikumo.

And then Walkure sings their songs, putting their very souls into the music.

Dr. Singh looks at the device. The bio fold waves are being radiated, extending beyond the outer bulkheads of the space carrier.

They reach the space habitat, which happens to be the principal supply base for the United Earth Forces in the Brisingr Globular Cluster. The _Aether_ had been alerted to a Var syndrome outbreak in this base, and within hours, Walkure and _Aether_ scrambled.

“It’s working,” says a crewman at a console in the bridge. “The Var is being suppressed.”

“We have reports from Space Station Brisingr,” says an officer. “It’s working.”

Walkure continues singing. They need to maximize exposure to minimize the chances of a relapse among the infected.

“Captain, we are detecting twenty bogeys approaching us,” says a communications officer. “thety are not responding to hails. They are two hundred klicks and closing.”

“Tour Bus to Delta Team, did you hear that?” asks Captain Johnson.

“We heard that,” answers Mulder.

“_Aether_ to unidentified aircraft,” says Johnson. “Identify yourself, If you get within one hundredf klicks, we will open fire.”

Their hearts race.

This could be a larger attack force, larger than the attack force on Al Shahal about six weeks before.

“Islander to Delta Team,” says Mulder. “Master Arm on.”

“Bogeys closing in,” says an officer. “One twenty. One ten. One hundred.”

“Open fire!” yells the captain.

The Aether’s guns fire on the unidentified spacecraft, with some of them exploding into fireballs.

“Tour Bus to Delta Team,” says Johnson. “You have permission to engage.”

“Roger that,” says the Delta Team leader. He and the others can still see the starboard guns firing on the spacecraft. About ten of them manage to escape the firing arc.

“Islander to Delta Team!” yells the wing commander, “Engage.”

And so they do, with the veritech fighters dancing with the unidentified spacecraft.

“Buckeye to Delta Team<’ says Flying Officer Sterling, getting a closer look at the mystery spacecraft. “they appear to be drones.”

“They fly like drones too,” says Flight Lieutenant Mustang.

Hayate targets one of the drones, and opens fire, destroying one of the drones. “Got one!” he yells.

At least there was no a person inside.

The veritechs fly around, dancing with the drones in space.

“TYour Bus to Delta Team,” says Captain Johnson. “The _Leonard_ is launching some fighters for support.”

“Rouge Seven to Delta Team, we’ll cover your flank,” says a female voice.

More and more drones are destroyed as the Delta Team veritech pilots make short work of them.

Finally, after maybe seven minutes, there are no drones in sight.

“There could be a second wave,” says Squadron Leader Oilfield.

“Walkure is continuing their singing,” says Captain Johnson. “Stand by, Delta Team.”

Soon, Walkure sings the last of their songs, catching their breath. Dr. Singh speaks into a telephone. A

“We’re done,” says the doctor. “Well done, ladies.”

“Let’s take a breather for now,” says Kaname, who is the band leader and manager. “But get ready to sing again at a moment’s notice.

Dr. Singh is sent to Space Station Brisingr to assist the medical personnel there. Delta Team stands by for an hour, before finally being allowed to return to the _Aether_ when another team of veritech fighters are deployed from the station itself as their relief.

“Slacker to Air Boss,” says Hayate. “I am on the final approach. Requesting permission to land.”

“Air Boss to Slacker, permission granted,” says the air boss. “ALS will guide you in.”

The automated landing system locks on to the VF-31 and guides it right on top the flight deck. Hayate taxis to the lift which takes him down to the hangar deck where his plane is stored.

Ooooooo

“Our preliminary reports indicate that these were unmanned,” says Captain Johnson, sitting inside his office.

He is in a conference with the Robotech Defense Fleet command, speaking with a rear admiral and his staff officers.

“I would speculate that these unidentified craft were dropped off by a ship that folded back into hyperspace,” says United Nations Spacy Captain Ken Chae, the commanding officer of the _Ikazuchi_-class carrier U.E.S. _Anatole Leonard_.

“I’ll send a mini mobile lab to examine the wreckage,” replies the admiral, a man in his mid forties. “If you can please send us all sensor data on any gravitational waves. I’ll see if Defense Fleet S-2 could take a look.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Chae.

“I am sure my superiors at Xaos will take a look and tell you if they see something,” says Johnson.

oooooooo

Not long afterward, Squadron leader Messer Oilfield stands in the hangar deck, looking at Immelman, Sterling, and Flight Lieutenant Mustang. Hayate looks at him. Oilfield is a tall, lean man with black hair, currently dressed in the overalls worn under the flight armor that veritech pilots wear. He has a serious look on his face. From his past experience, it seems as if that serious look was permanently glued on the front of his head.

“Lieutenant Mustang, remember that activating the scissors results in a loss of power,” says the squadron leader.

“Yes, sir,” he replies.

“Flying Officer Sterling, watch your right side. You would be dead if it weren’t for the wing commander.”

“Yes, sir,” she replies.

“That is all,” says Oilfield. “Dismissed.”

“Squadron Leader,” asks Hayate, “Why did you call me here?”

“Pilot Officer Immelman, you are not worth talking to.”

“What?” asks the pilot officer.

“But since we’re talking, I will tell you this. Do not hesitate. Do not be afraid to take the enemy down. You only aimed for the wings back at Randor. The same goes fopr you, Flying Officer Sterling.”

“Wait,” protests Sterling. “Here, we just shot up some unmanned drones. At Randor, those were U.N. Spacy pilots.”

“The commander and Lieutenant Mustang were also aiming for the wings,” says Immelman.

“They have developed more skills, Sterling,” replies the squadron leader. “You have not. Against live pilots, you will die.”

“Sir, could you please explain?” asks Sterling

“You fly very much by the book,” answers Oilfield. “In other words, you are too predictable, like those drones you destroyed. Immelman here, at least he can be unpredictable. Remember that training exam when he was a cadet?”

Flying Officer Sterling recalls that, when then-Cadet Immelman suddenly turned around and blasted her cockpit canopy with paint. It allowed him to continue with Delta Team, and get promoted to pilot officer.

“Yes, sir, I do.”

“He may lack in skills, but he is unpredictable, and can score a shot on even a pilot with a decade’s experience- not that it would keep him alive in the long run. With you, Flying Officer Sterling, the moment a pilot reads you is the last moment you will have in this physical Universe. I shall now catch up on important paperwork, including scheduling some more sim time for all of us.”

Ooooooo

A man named Roid sits behind the desk, reading the latest reports over the attack on the United Nations Space Station Brisingr.

A man with long blond hair enters the elegant room.

“Ah, Keith,” says Roid. “How are you feeling?”

“We have beeN training ourselves,” replies the young man. “Bogue is especially eager to get back into the cockpit.”

“He is almost like a blood knight. I have been analyzing the combat data. It will be useful the next time you all deploy, which will be very soon”

“Soon, we will cross a line that we can not retreat from.”

Roid stands up. “It is necessary to make your mother’s vision from a dream to a reality.”

“Of course. I just hope Heinz will be okay.”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

Ooooooo

The next day, it is time for the _Aether_ to return home. It undergoes a hyperspace fold, returning to orbit around the planet Ragna.

The officers and crew strap themselves in as the carrier descends into the atmosphere of the blue and green planet. Traffic control directs the huge ship to a vector to a city called Barretteburg.

The bridge makes contact the air traffic control for the Xaos Airfield, the headquarters for the Brisingr Fleet, and home port for the _Aether_. The ship hovers for a while sing its gravity pods, and then makes it final approach, extending its landing struts and landing right on the tarmac.

“Welcome to Planet Ragna,” says Captain Ernest Johnson.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Windermere declares war on the United Nations

Instead of a flight suit, Hayate Immelman wears shorts, running shoes, and a T-shirt. And this is indeed the most appropriate clothes to wear, for the teen is going on a jog through the streets of the beachside neighborhoods of Barretteburg.

“How are you feeling, Hayate?” asks Chuck Mustang.

“I’m beginning to feel the burn,” replies Hayate. “You know, my dad is coming here tonight.”

“You said he’s a general in the Marines. Is he on vacation?”

“Actually, he’s on business, inspecting a Space Marine garrison here for Headquarters. He flies back to Galaxy City tomorrow and I figured he could stop by at Ragnanyanan.”

He glances at Chuck Mustang. Chuck is a big guy, well over six feet tall. Hayate recalls hearing Chuck mentions that some of his ancestors were Samoan, whatever those people were.

“Never been here before,” says Hayate. “What is this place?”

“Some sports club,” answers Chuck, sipping some water from a plastic bottle. “Really expensive, even for a Xaos flight lieutenant’s salary.”

Hayate takes another look. The club is surrounded by a chain link fence, and there are some buildings inside, none of them more than two stories high. There are fields for various sports.

The two of them continue running. They pass near a bunch of people playing some game with racquets and balls on the other side of the fence. They all seem to be smiling and having a good time. Hayate stops to catch his breath.

He recognizes one of the men playing.

That is Squadron leader Messer Oilfield!

“That’s Driller,” he says. “That man with the black hair.”

Chuck focuses his eyesight. The man looks like him, and yet…

“We’d better go,” says Chuck, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Ooooooo

A boy named Heinz steps up on top a stone podium. His older brother Keith watches.

“Are you all right?” asks Keith.

“Yes,” answers Heinz.

Heinz starts singing.

ooooo

“How did the financial planning class go?” asks Kaname.

“So much to remember,” answers Freyja. She had just come back from that class, hearing about all sorts of ways to save money, and hearing so much stuff about stocks and bonds and mutual funds and retirement accounts.

“Yeah, like getting choosing between two brand names from the store,” says Mirage Sterling.

Freyja had lived with these two women for about a month and a half now. The place is huge, with the main living room having this depression surrounded by a wooden decorative railing.

Mirage removes two cans from the kitchen cabinet. “These are both beans,” she says.

“And?” asks Freyja.

“Look at the price per ounce,” she says.

“What’s an ounce?”

“About twenty-eight grams.”

“What’s a gram? Wait, it must be some sort of Terran measurement for mass.”

“Anyway, these two cans have different prices. This can had the more expensive price.”

Freyja looks at the can of kidney beans. She does notice the packaging is much more decorative than the other can that Mirage is holding.

“So the fancier packaging is more expensive?”

“Usually, yes.”

“So buy the one with the plain packaging.”

“Usually. What we need to ask ourselves is what extra value is there in getting the more expensive item. Does it last longer? Is there more? Is there a special occasion?”

“Wow, this is so complicated,” says Freyja.

“I know that you have difficulty in this subject due to your background,” says Mirage. “But I remember when I first accepted the job as a veritech pilot for Xaos. I suddenly had more money than I ever had before. I was making four times as much. I spent a lot- going out to restaurants, buying clothes, getting the latest electronic toys. I was spending as much money as I was making. Then I realize, after being late my bills and having my car repossessed, that I was wondering if all the expensive stuff I bought added value. Most of the time, it didn’t. I had to be financially smart.”

Mirage recalls the stories of her parents having to live frugally, which was a necessity, as they spent the formative years of their lives on an Earth occupied by hostile aliens.

“I had that experience,” says Kaname. “Why, before I stared Walkure, I was a struggling singer. I made a living serving cheap food in diners in exchange for low tips, when I wasn’t singing in these dive bars with so many health code violations. It wasn’t until that Var syndrome business started, and we formed Walkure, that I started making at least ten times as much money as I did before. And I spent it all for years.”

“Basically, save the expensive stuff for special occasions,” says Mirage.

“That sort of makes sense,” replies Freyja.

Oooooo

Mikumo Guynemer can hear.

She hears a beautiful song.

A song being broadcast across hyperspace.

ooooooooo

“This deep fried jellyfish tastes great!” explains Ronald Wright Immelman, taking another piece of fried Ragnana jellyfish with twio wooden chopsicks and dipPing it into soy sauce with scallions.

He went to the Ragnanyanyan restaurant in Barretteburg to visist his son, Hayate. The restaurant primarily serves fusion Chinese-Ragnan cuisine. It resembles a traditional Chinese restaurant, with the wooden tables, banners with Chinese writing. The bowls and chopsticks are reminiscent of Chinese restaurants.

“It’s easy to eat plenty of them,” says Hayate. “Because I lease an apartment upstairs, I get a complimentary entrée for dinner; I take advantage of it if I don’t want anything else like a steak or a pizza. Which by the way, there are some places that serve Ragnan versions of steak and pizza”

The teen looks at his father- a hard, dark-haired man, presently dressed in a Class “A” Space Marine duty uniform, which are olive-drab trousers worn over the legs, an olive-drab Mandarin-collared shirt worn over the torso, and an olive-green coat woern over the shirt. A single silver star on the collar indicates the elder Immelman’s rank as a brigadier general.

“I wish I did have time to check out those places; I fly back to Galaxy City tomorrow. How are you doing?”

“Fine,” replies his son. “I feel.. .I feel like I found my purpose in life.”

“You fly support to protect a band that treats sick people,” says the elder Immelman. “I can’t imagine a more noble calling.”

Two of Chuck’s younger brothers- Zack and Hack, Hayate recalls their names- run up to the uniformed man. They look like miniature versions of Chuck- in their case, miniature means they look as big as kids in their early teens.

“So you’re a soldier,” says Zack.

“Actually, I’m a Space Marine,” replies Ronald Wright Immelman.

“What’s the difference?” asks Hack.

“Well, I’m in a different service,” answers Hayate’s father. “I’m in the United Nations Space Marines. We perform orbit-to-surface invasions of planets and space stations.”

“In case you can’t just smash the place with rocks and shells and missiles,” says Zack.

“Yes.”

“Have you been combat, sir?” asks Hack.

The elder Immelman has a blank look as memories from twenty-three years before resurface. “Yes, I have.”

Hayate recalls that his father has fought in the Battle of Reflex Point, the last battle of the Third Robotech War. All of them should have survived; most of them did not.

“Combat is not something to be glorified,” says Hayate. “It’s worse than having to unclog a stopped toilet.” The teen stands up, clenching a fist. “I wish it weren’t necessary.”

His father is silent, only dipping another piece of deep fried jellyfish into the sauce. Clearly, Hayate’s experiences with Delta Team made him grow up in just one and a half months.

It is then that there is a broadcast. Not the usual sports that typically plays on the television inside the Ragnanyannyan.

It is a special report.

“We have this diplomatic transmission from the Kingdom of Windermere,” says the news anchor.

Hayate’s ears perk up, as he knows that Freyja is from Windermere.

A bespectacled platinum-haired man speaks.

“I am Chancellor Roid Brehm of the Kingdom of the Wind,” he says. “Just today, we have defeated the United Earth Forces on the moon Voldor. In the name of His Majesty, Gramis Nerich Windermere, King of the Wind, we declare war on the United Nations, and announce our intent to liberate the Brisingr Globular Cluster!”

Ooooooo

Freyja runs over after being called by Kaname, taking a look at the laptop screen.

She watches the video.

“That’s Chancellor Brehm,” she says. “But it doesn’t make sense.”

Her homeland had just declared war on the United Nations.

She wonders what it will mean for her family back home.

Oooooo

Inside Ragnanyanyan, all of the few customers inside at the moment pay attention to the televisions as broadcast reporters talk about this latest development in interstellar politics.

The waitress Peggy hands Ronald Wright Immelman his check.

He stands up. “It seems I will have to be going back to Space Marine Headquarters much sooner than I expected,” he says to his son. “I hopped this would not happen. For twenty-three years, we have had peace. I had hoped that you could live a long, full life without knowing war. But it is not to be.”

The elder Immelman soon pays the check after Peggy hands it to him.

“Take care, Dad,” says Hayate.

They embrace.

Soon, his father puts on his barracks cover and steps outside the restaurant into the night, waiting for a car to take him back to base.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith visits Heinz and talks about his role in the upcoming war.

_Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing_

_But then I know it’s going strong._

The song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, first published in 1969, plays over the speakers inside the Texas smokehouse barbecue Restaurant in Galaxy City. The restaurant features a full bar and gourmet Texas-style barbecue dishes such as pulled pork, ribs, tri-tip, and classic sides like garlic mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, macaroni and cheese.

Among the customers here is United Nations Ocean Patrol Admiral Chen Tzu, the Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces, who had chosen to have his lunch away from UEF Headquarters. He takes another bite from the rib, which had been slathered in Texas-style barbecue sauce. A bib covers his uniform, which are white trousers over the legs, a white Mandarin-collared shirt over the torso, and a white coat. On the ends of his coat sleeves are one two-inch stripe and three one-inch stripes.

“It is nice to get away from the office,” says the supreme commander. “How are things going?”

“Very well,” replies Marie Crystal, Galactic Security Advisor, and Chen’s guest for lunch. She slices a piece of roasted chicken, the juices spilling into the ceramic plate. “My biggest concern is waiting to meet my newest grandchild.”

“Another grandchild on the way?”

“Yup.”

The admiral looks at Crystal. She is a woman in her late fifties with black hair with some streaks of gray. She wears a gray suit. “I still remember when you had my job, Marie. And then you retired.”

“I gave up on work for a year, just to live off my retirement income. And then I got an opportunity to serve as the Galactic Security Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations. I needed some mental exercise, you know.”

_Warm, touchin’ warm_

_Touchin’ me_

_Touchin’ you_

_Sweet Caroline_

_Good times never seemed so good. _

Admiral Chen’s smart phone buzzes. He looks at a brief text message.

He recognizes the sender.

It is no prank.

Windermere declared war on U.N..

Crystal’s phone buzzes. She too, sees a text.

“Check please,” says Chen.

A waitress with purple hair and a low-cut blouse gets the check for these two shortly afterwards.

“We need to take this food to go,” says Marie Crystal.

The two of them know that they will be spending much time in the office.

And “Sweet Caroline” finishes playing over the speakers.

oooooo

Keith Aero Windermere and the other Aerial Knights enter the large office inside the Windermere Royal Palace. They recognize the sheer opulence of the place, the soft carpet, the bookcases, the leather couches for visitors.

The centerpiece of the room is an opulent, finely-varnished wooden desk, made from the strongest trees on the planet. On top of the desk are some papers.

Behind the desk sits a bespectacled, platinum-haired man that Keith and the others all recognize as Roid Brehm, Chancellor of the Windermere Royal Court.

“So it has begun, sir,” says Master Hermann of the Kingdom of the Wind Aerial Knights. “There is no turning back.”

“We have taken the biggest step so far in realizing the vision that the Kingdom of the Wind was presented over twenty years ago. Many of you in this room had not even been born yet.”

“Father had not been crowned yet,” says Keith.

“I can not wait to spill the blood of the Earth vermin,” says Bogue Con-Vaart.

“The people of Earth are our enemies now,” says Brehm, “but do not hate them. Remember, young Con-Vaart, I was trained by an Earth man when I was younger than you are now. And remember that Master Hermann here is a veteran of the United Nations Spacy- a staff sergeant, if I am not mistaken. Honorably discharged, with excellent performance evaluations.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Hermann.

He looks at the Aerial Knights- the best skilled, and most loyal, pilots in the entire kingdom. Heavily trained and heavily screened, they are the best, serving as an adjunct to the Windermerean Royal Guard.

And he briefly remembers Wolf Gura, the young knight who fell in battle over the Planet Randor.

“With this declaration of war, I have many meetings,” says the Chancellor. “Dismissed.”

Ooooooo

Just after the meeting with Chancellor Brehm, Keith walks along the hallways. He glances at two Royal Guards, dressed in their tunics and tights, and wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a huge feather attached. They allow him in.

Keith enters and sees a casually dressed boy, about thirteen years of age, inside this large, opulent living room. Long, platinum=-colored hair flows from his head.

“Hello there,” says Heinz Nerich Windermere, the Crown Prince.

“Are you feeling all right?” he asks.

“A bit tired after that song session,” replies the Crown Prince. “So we are at war, now. Father will be busy with meetings.”

“Roid has his back.”

“It’s hard to believe we’re finally doing this.”

“Father believes in this vision. As does Roid. And so do I. We must be willing to pay any price to make it come true, so that you, little brother, can reign over a kingdom in peace.”

oooooo

On a planet named Glorie, there is a place called Joint Forces Air Field Glorie, hosting units from all five services of the United Earth Forces, as it had for fifty-two years. One of the many buildings on the base is the Robotech Defense Forces Command Headquarters.

Wearing MARPAT camouflage, United Nations Army General T.R. Andrews walks through the hallways of the headquarters while holding a ceramic cup filled with coffee. He looks at two officers escorting him.

“Caculitan, Kravshera, go to the command center and maintain watch,” he says.

“Yes, sir,” they reply.

The general walks into his office. Ever since the declaration of war by the Kingdom of the Wind, he had spent at least half the time inside the command center, which receives data from the entire galaxy. He spends most of the other half in meetings- virtual or otherwise- with the unit commanders subordinate to his command. Andrews indeed has a big job, for, as commander of the Robotech Defense Forces Command, he is responsible for defending the member states of the United Nations; he answers directly to the Supreme Commander.

He sits behind a finely varnished-wooden desk. On top are some papers and a telephone. A nameplate is on front of the desk, reading **GEN T.R. ANDREWS, UNA**.

He logs into a computer sitting at the corner.

He checks his watch and a clock hanging on the right side of his office.

It is time.

Several holograms appear. General Andrews recognizes a woman with black hair cut in a bowl-shape. She wears a blue suit and eyeglasses.

She is Nozawa Noriko, the Secretary General of the United Nations.

“In two hours I have an emergency session of the General Assembly to preside over,” she says. “Report, General Andrews.”

“Yes, ma’am,” replies the general. “After the declaration of war, we found out we lost realtime contact with all of our forces stationed on or around Voldor. We deployed the scout ship _Sally Ride_ to do preliminary recon. As expected, there are Windermerean ships around the moon and its parent planet.”

“Anything else you found, General?” asks the Secretary General.

“Yes, ma’am,” answers Andrews. “I found it hard to believe at first, and I had to speak directly with the captain of the _Ride_, but we can not deny it.

“There is no evidence of any debris from space combat assigned to the defensive flotilla. As a matter of fact, I saw still images of our vessels still orbiting the planet.”

“What?” asks Admiral Chen. “Surely our crews did not simply surrender without a fight!”

“We will find out what happened, sir.”

“You had better.”

“There is nothing more that can be accomplished in this meeting,” says Nozawa. “Admiral Chen, you need to start working on a counterattack.”

“Yes, ma’am,” replies the Supreme Commander. “All of the combatant commanders will be working on this.”

“Understood, sir,” says General Andrews.

The holograms vanish.

It is time for the general to return to the command center.

It seems that the command center will be his second home for now.

Ooooooo

Galaxy City, located at the L4 point between Earth and its sun, is a huge space habitat that serves as the capital of the United Earth Government, having had served this function for eighteen years now. Many of the government’s most critical departments are headquartered here.

The headquarters of the General Assembly, the supreme ruling body of the United Earth Government, is here.

Secretary General Nozawa Noriko scheduled a special session of the Assembly as soon as she had heard about the declaration of war from the Kingdom of the Wind. Hundreds of ships defolded from hyperspace near Galaxy City, delivering the delegates and their support staff.

The chamber is packed. Almost all of the delegates, from over two hundred fifty member states, have gathered here. They too, have all heard and read about recent events. One notable absence is the delegate from Voldor.

The Secretary General sits at a wooden podium in the back of the chamber, facing the assembly.

“As Secretary General of the United Nations, I hereby open this emergency session of the General Assembly, which has supreme, absolute, and unlimited legislative, executive, judicial, and ecclesiastical powers,” she says. “Our first article on the agenda is a declaration of war against the Kingdom of the Wind.

“I shall begin with my opening statement. Yesterday, as you all know, we received a transmission from the Kingdom of the Wind that they have declared war on the United Nations and have captured the moon Voldor, which is inhabited by one of our member states. Their claim of conquering Voldor has been verified by scout ships from our Robotech Defense Fleet.

“Voldor is a member state of the United Nations. If there is any founding principle of these United Nations, it is that an attack on any member state is an attack against us…

“Vote now!” yell many members of the Assembly. “Vote now!”

“..all,” continues the Secretary General. “I present a resolution to end debate and vote on the declaration of war.”

The whole chamber exclaims support.

“Very well,” says Nozawa. “Debate is over on this issue. We shall now proceed on a roll call vote for this declaration of war. May every member state be on record as to whether they vote for this declaration of war against the Kingdom of the Wind.”

And so the votes go in, one by one.

The results are in.

There are only three votes against.

“As Secretary General of the United Nations,” says Nozawa Noriko, “I announce that the General Assembly of the United Nations, which has supreme, absolute, and unlimited legislative, executive, judicial, and ecclesiastical power, has declared war on the Kingdom of the Wind, located on the fourth planet of the Windermere System. I now relinquish the chair to the Vice Chair of the Assembly.”

She bangs the gavel.

Oooooo

Freyja Wion enters a large room. The others in Walkure, along with so many employees working at the Brisingr Operation headquarters of the Xaos Corporation. She notices Hayate Immelman and the others in Delta Team.

Captain Ernest Johnson enters. He is a giant, green-skinned man. He wears a barracks cover on his head, trousers on his pants, a white collared shirt, a black necktie around his collar, and a knee-length overcoat.

“I have an announcement to make,” says the captain. “I will send out an e-mail later, but you all have heard it here first. As of today, the United Nations has declared war on the Kingdom of the Wind. The General Assembly has also issued letters of marque and reprisal to several shipping companies, including Xaos. We now have authority to attack and capture Windermerean vessels.

“If there are any conscientious objectors to war, they are free to resign. We shall even provide job relocation assistance. For those who stay, we will be engaging in acts of war. There will be significant risk of death. That is all.”

Hayate clenches his fist.

He had been born to a galaxy at peace, just six years after the last battle of the last Robotech War.

And now he might have to stain his hands with blood again, like he did over the Planet Randor, defending Walkure from those space pirates.

“Are you in, Immelman?” asks Flying Officer Mirage Sterling.

He looks at Sterling- a purple-haired, pale-skinned woman in her early twenties, about five eight. She had trained him when he first joined Xaos. She is nearly as tough as Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield.

“As I said before, I don’t like killing,” says Hayate. “I will fly missions to protect Walkure. That is what I signed up for.”

A man with brown hair and a goatee appears. He wears a red jacket and blue jeans.

He is Wing Commander Arad Mulder.

“So you are in,” he says. “For now.”

Ooooooo

The talk in the cafeteria is all about the war, and Xaos’s role in it. The employees know that they will be playing a big part, due to Windermere being inside the Brisingr Globular Cluster, known for having the highest concentration of habitable worlds anywhere in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Hayate sits down, eating a _carne asada_ taco with cilantro, guacamole, and pico de gallo. He looks at a television.

“We have declared war on Windermere,” says Secretary General Nozawa Noriko. “We are in negotiations with member states to provide troops and space vessels for this war.

“There are eighteen Windermean subjects that had enlisted in the United Earth Forces. They have all been separated and discharged in accordance with their service records. We thank them for their service, and bear no ill will. We will offer them a ride back to Windermere if they so choose, or we will provide assistance in finding new employment if they choose to continue to reside in one of the member states of the United Nations, and they will be eligible for all benefits due to their service. Thank you.”

“We now introduce to you an expert,” says a news anchor. “Let us introduce retired General Gunther Reinhardt, who was Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces, speaking from his home in Munich, Germany, on Planet Earth.:”

An image of a white haired man in a plaid shirt appears; he appears to be in his early seventies.

“Thank you,” says the retired general. “Thank you for having me on this show.”

“Any opinions, General Reinhardt?”

“This can not end well for Windermere,” says Reinhardt. “The full might of the United Earth Forces, both from the five services as well as auxiliaries deployed by our member states, will be too much weight for them to handle. I expect this war to be ended quickly.”

ooooooo

Freyja later meets with Captain Johnson in his office. With Johnson is Kaname Buccaneer, the manager of the Super Dimension Venus Walkure.

“I understand that you are a subject of Windermere,” says the captain, sitting behind a huge desk.

“Yes, sir,” replies Freyja, sitting on a chair in front of the desk.

“Then there is a conflict of interest, as Xaos is now allowed to attack Windermerean ships,” says Kaname. “Can you fight your countrymen? Can you fight, knowing that we may come into conflict with your own family?”

“I joined Walkure to sing,” says Freyja. “Not to fight. Even with this senseless war, there are people suffering from Var syndrome. We will help them. I will do my part.”

“Then we have rehearsals. Let’s go, Freyja.”

Johnson looks at the computer monitor in his office, right by his desk.

He sees a secure e-mail from Xaos Corporate headquarters about the Elysion Protocol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The U.N. plans to strike back against Windermere.

The Toyota Avalon is a staff car that had been used by the United Earth Government for over sixty years. One of them, a hover model, travels along the understreets of Galaxy City, separated from the normal traffic. The car comes to a stop, the landing struts touching the floor.

The Avalon is blue. On the front doors are stenciled, “**U.N. AIR FORCE FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY**”. Several uniformed people step out.

One of them is a man in a blue uniform consisting of trousers and a tunic. On his head is a barracks cap with the emblem of the United Nations Air Force. Service ribbons pinned on the left side of his shirt tell the story of his service going back over a quarter of a century, including his participation in the Battle of Reflex Point and the Battle over Haydon IV. There are two sets of four stars, one on each shoulder.

He is General Walt Wendell Wilson, commander of the Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command, the unified combatant command dedicated to space exploration and combat operations away from the member states of the United Nations.

In one hand he carries a briefcase.

In another hand, he carries an apple.

They walk through the doors, reaching the lowest level of the Citadel, the headquarters of the United Earth Forces. General Wilson had taken a flight all the way from the moon Tirol, where the Expeditionary Command’s headquarters is located.

He enters an elevator, which is already packed with many uniformed personnel. All of them stand at attention as the general enters.

Wilson’s heart races. This is a very important meeting for him. The elevator opens, and he walks. He reaches a checkpoint manned by the Citadel Police. The general recalls that the Citadel Police are not in any of the military services; their chief reported directly to the Supreme Commander.

They do another security check, and then Wilson walks through the corridors. There are far fewer people here.

He then reaches a set of double doors. He checks the plate mounted on the wall right by the door.

This is the right place.

He opens the doors.

Inside the room is a curved table. Around the table sit general and flag officers, all in the Class “A” service uniforms.

They are the Joint Chiefs of Staff, composed of a chairman and the Army Chief of Staff, the Air Force Chief of Staff, the Chief of Spacy Operations, the Commandant of the Space Marines, and the Commandant of the Ocean Patrol. They are the principal deliberative advisory body in the United Earth Forces.

While the chairman in practice normally presides over meetings of the Joint Chiefs, he does so in the name of the Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces. For this particular meeting, the Supreme Commander himself, Ocean Patrol Admiral Chen Tzu, presides.

“General Walt Wendell Wilson, United Nations Air Force, commander of the Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command, reporting to the Supreme Commander and the Joint Chiefs as ordered, sir,” says General Wilson.

“Acknowledged,” says the Supreme Commander. “General Andrews shall start with his presentation.”

Wilson glances at a dark-haired man in a green tunic and trousers. Ribbons are pinned to the left side of his chest, and there are two sets of four silver stars, one on each shoulder.

“Yes, sir,” says General T.R. Andrews of Defense Command. “We need to strike while the iron is hot. From the latest reports from Spacy Headquarters, we should have enough space vessels. I propose we will need about ten thousand vessels- cruisers, carriers, and even some SDFs- to go and take back Voldor. Sirs and ma’ams, we must do this before the Windermereans can harden their defenses. As a matter of fact, our scout ships have detected the Windermerean Space Force doing just that.”

“Our reserve forces have not even finished mobilizing,” says the Commandant of the Space Marines.

“I am sure they will be useful in mopping up, sir,” replies Andrews. “But we can assemble a strike force by tomorrow, and liberate Voldor by tomorrow.”

“We thank you for your proposal, General Andrews,” says Admiral Chen. “We would now like to hear from General Wilson.”

“Sirs, ma’ams, let us note that Windermere only has one planet and a handful of deep space outposts,” says Wilson. “As my colleague General Andrews has noted, the Windermereans are shoring up the defenses around Voldor. Their ships have to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is their home planet of Windermere IV.”

“So what are you getting at?” asks Admiral Yusuf Obegwo, the Commandant of the Ocean Patrol.

“Admirals, Generals, I propose striking at their home planet itself. If we can reassign more vessels to our Expeditionary Fleet, we should be able to go in and destroy all of Windermere’s orbital defenses. After that, there will be nothing from stopping us from smashing the surface of their home world with huge rocks. They will have no choice but to unconditionally surrender.”

“How many ships will you need?” asks the Chief of Spacy Operations.

“I want every available ship, sir,” says Wilson. “I am sure both the Zentraedi Nation and the Tirol Republic could assign some more ships as well. Sirs, ma’ams, we are not going to do a half-assed job. The Windermereans must know the full power of the United Earth Forces. Let me have the SDF-5 _Ranger_ as my flagship, and I will end the war by tomorrow.”

“That is quite a boast, Walt,” says the Air Force Chief of Staff.

“The Windermereans can’t possibly defeat us.”

Admiral Chen stands up. “I must agree with General Wilson,” he says. “The chiefs will supply Expeditionary Command with all vessels, troops, and equipment necessary for them to make their strike against Windermere.”

Wilson takes a bite out of the spotted apple he had brought with him. “Just like I took a bite out of this apple, so we will take a bite out of Windermere’s defenses,” says the Air Force general.

Oooooooo

Everyone in the crew of the _Aether_, along with Walkure and Delta Team, gather inside the Xaos Brisingr Headquarters Auditorium, pursuant to a memo sent out by Captain Ernest Johnson. They all glance at each other, wondering what is going on, although they all figure it has something to do with the war between the United Nations and the Kingdom of the Wind.

Captain Johnson enters the room, and everyone stands up. Accompanying the captain is a man wearing olive-green trousers, and olive drab Mandarin-collared shirt, and an olive green coat. He appears to be in his early forties, and has brown hair and a moustache. Colored ribbons are pinned to the left side of his coat, and the insignia on his collar indicates his rank as a colonel.

“Hello everyone,” says Johnson. “I introduce to you Colonel Johnny Wolff, United Nations Space Marines, our liaison from Expeditionary Command.”

“Thank you, Captain Johnson,” says Colonel Wolff. “Xaos has assigned the vessels from its Brisingr Merchant Fleet to the United Earth Forces to provide support for upcoming combat ops against Windermere. The _Aether_ deploys tomorrow. Everyone should enjoy tonight. Say goodbyes, and be prepared.”

“So another deployment,” says Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman.

“And we may be deployed for weeks, maybe even months,” says Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield. “That is the nature of war, Immelman.”

“Yes, sir.”

Meanwhile, Johnson and Wolff walk into Johnson’s office.

“It has been too many years, Ernie,” says Colonel Wolff.

“How are things, Johnny?” asks the Xaos captain.

“Great. The kids are fans of Walkure; I hear their music every time I go home. And now I am about to deploy again. I made sure to have a fun dinner, playing games. Mom will help watch over them while I’m deployed with you. Though I wonder why I’m being assigned to your flagship, instead of standing by General Wilson’s side for the upcoming battle.”

“Upcoming battle?”

“We’re certainly not going to sit on our asses while Windermere plots the conquest of another member state. I wonder if I did something to piss the general off.”

“You’d have to ask him.”

“Well, I do love the coffee here- much better selections than what they have at Expeditionary Headquarters on Tirol. I suppose I should bring it up at the next staff meeting.”

“You do that, Johnny. And if you decide to go provide sector, I will definitely recommend you to my bosses.”

Ooooooo

Somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy is a huge gas giant planet called Fantoma. And one of the moons orbiting this planet is called Tirol. Unlike the other moons, Tirol has places where humans can walk around outside without a spacesuit.

One of these places is the site of a United Nations Reservation. The reservation is not far from the capital city of Tiresia. It is where several United Earth Government offices are located, along with towns for UEG employees.

One of these buildings is the Headquarters of the Galactic Health Service. It is a tall, twelve-story building. Inside are the offices of the Galactic health Service, which deals with public health issues galaxy-wide for the United Earth Government.

Inside this building, Dr. Benjamin Greenfeld, the Surgeon General of the United Nations, walks to his office. He had breakfast of coffee and bagels with cream cheese in the café in the first-floor lobby, though of course the bagels do not compare with the bagels from Moishe’s shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York on Planet Earth. His mind wanders to planning another trip to Earth, before he refocuses on more pressing matters.

“Any messages, Nadia?” he asks his secretary.

“I have these messages,” she replies, handing him some slips. She briefly looks at the Surgeon General. He is a dark-haired man with a big nose and a beard. He wears white trousers, a whiteMandarin-0collared shirt, and a white coat. Ribbons are pinned to the left side of his chest. A two inch stripe and two one-inch stripes at the end of each sleeve indicate his rank as a vice admiral in the United Nations Galactic Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Dr. Greenfeld looks at the names and telephone numbers. He figures he can call these people later.

The doctor enters his office. It is a large office. The floor is covered in a fine carpet. There are bookcases along the left and right walls. The centerpiece is a finely-varnished wooden desk.

He logs into a computer located on a side desk to the left. After skimming through some e-mails, he decides to make an interstellar holographic call.

He looks at the screen, waiting until the two people he wishes to speak to are logged in.

And then two holograms appear.

One of them is that of a dark-haired, brown-skinned woman in long-sleeve service khakis. She is Dr. Naomi Singh, his liaison to Walkure and Xaos.

The other woman has red hair and pale skin, wearing a white-collared blouse with blue sleeves and a red skirt. She is Kaname Buccaneer, the manager of Walkure.

“Dr. Singh, Miss Buccaneer, how are things going?” asks the Surgeon General.

“The recent war has everyone on edge, sir,” says Singh, “and _Aether_ is deploying.”

“You and Walkure will deploy with the Captain Johnson and the _Aether_,” says Greenfeld.

“We’re deploying?” asks Kaname.

“We do not know if there will be a Var outbreak among the fleet while it is deployed. And remember, Miss Buccaneer, you and your band are still under contract with the Health Service.”

“I see,” says Dr. Singh.

“My office will provide details to you two and Captain Johnson via e-mail.”

Oooooooo

“She shoots, she scores,” says the young woman dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt.

The sky grows dark as the sun sets. Several women play basketball in a basketball court located in a park in Barretteburg. Mirage Sterling is among them.

The ball bounces around and around, until one of the women grabs it and shoots it through the hoop.

“So yer goin’ off to space,” says one of the women, whose name is Venus.

“Yeah, our ship and our veritech team is gonna support to war,” replies Mirage.

Mirage had always enjoyed basketball. Memories of her playing basketball on the driveway of her family home in Ohio surface. She played the sport in preteen clubs and in high school and for the United Earth Forces Academy, both on the campus in Samsun, Turkey and in various universities on Earth and other worlds and space habitats. She feels as if she is in another dimension of existence when that rubber ball bounces on the asphalt.

“What I wonder is how one planet can possibly take on the United Nations,” says another woman, whose name is Amanda. “I mean, if the U.N. actually invades Windermere, I guess they can hide in the hills and ambush any patrols. But to actually take over the Cluster…”

“I’ve had so much sim time today,” says Mirage. “Right now, I just want to play basketball, pretend I’m in the pros.”

Ooooooo

The radar lock warning flashes red.

There is an enemy fighter at the six o’clock position.

It is too persistent.

“YOU ARE DEAD” appears on the screen.

“Being a fighter pilot is hard,” says Freyja Wion.

“Tell me about it,” replies Hayate Immelman.

The two of them took the train to downtown Baretteburg, climbing up stairs to the main level. Freyja is wearing plain, drab looking clothing and tinted eyeglasses, keeping people from recognizing her. They walked along the streets until they reached this place called Games, Food, and Drinks.

There, they had a dinner of spinach-artichoke dip, chicken fingers with honey mustard, Memphis-style barbecue, and buffalo sauces. The whole place had so many arcade games, from racing games to fighting games to shoot-em-ups. It is very popular with people their age and younger. Aside from what Freyja and Hayate ordered, the place serves various sandwiches and pizzas and entrees.

Freyja just played a fighter simulator game where she pretended to pilot a Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried.

“Maybe if Mirage was teaching me, I’d do better,” she says.

“Buckeye is an effective instructor,” replies Hayate.

“Well, if I had to do your job, you do mine.”

“What do you mean?”

Freyja points. There is some sort of dancing/singing game.

“Aw, come on.”

“I was a veritech pilot,” says Freyja. “You get to be a singer.”

“Okay,” he says, trying to humor the girl.

Hayate uses GFD’s game card to pay for a game. He stands on the miniature stage. He selects this classic, “Stage Fright”. The instrumentals start playing. The lyrics appear on the screen, and arrows appear. Hayate starts singing, as he tries to step on the arrows on the ground.

_Staage fright_

_Smashing_

_The feelins bashing_

_My hearts and sole belong to ya_

_And I’m here now_

_Singing_

_All bells aaaarre ringing_

_My dream has finaaaly come true_

_Stage friiight_

_Gowaay_

_Dis is my big daaay_

_And this thrill I feel_

_It feels so unreaaal_

_I can’t believe I come this far_

_Thiiis is my tiiiime to be a star_

The crowd laughs.

“You’re no Ling Ming Mei,” says a boy.

“Okay, maybe I’m a little rough when it comes to singing,” Hayate says to Freyja.

“Hard to believe our ship will be going off fighting a war,” she says.

“Well, listen, the Var syndrome is still a threat. We’ll be there to heal people. I won’t fly unless it’s to help you.”

“I’m singing. I’m not killing any of my people.”

He looks at the crowd of people in GFD. They all seem to have a great time, briefly burying any thoughts of the war with Windermere.

Standing maybe thirty feet away is a woman who is looking at them.

Oooooooooo

Barry Wu pulls into his driveway in his Lexus. Soon, he, his wife Naomi Singh, and their three children step out. They all head back into their house, with Barry carrying some giant stuffed toys.

“Time to put you all to sleep,” he says.

He, Naomi, and the kids all went to the E-Pier, a mini amusement place located in Barretteburg, owned by Satelight. It has several rides including a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel and a carousel. They all had pepperoni pizza and Petit Cola for dinner. The parents made sure to bring the kids for a fun time, for Naomi would be deploying with _Aether_ tomorrow morning.

They make sure their three children- two girls and a boy- all brush their teeth. They all get into their pajamas, and Naomi personally greets them a good night.

She made sure to take one long last look at them, before retreating to her bedroom with her husband.

They look at each other’s eyes.

They kiss.

Their hearts race.

Naomi’s clothes fall on the floor, revealing her body, her breasts encased by a bra and her crotch encased by her lacy panties.

Seconds later, Barry’s clothes end up on the floor.

Naomi gazes at her husband, the man whose children she bore. She looks at his black hair, his amber-cpmplected skin, the finely muscled body. She can see a bulge in his underwear.

She unhooks her bra and it drops on the carpet, revealing the breasts in full, and the nipples which nourished their children.

Barry stares for a while, and then starts fondling her tits, getting harder as he does so.

He drops his underwear, revealing his stiff, erect penis. Naomi gazes at the male organ responsible for conceiving life inside her three times. She touches it with her hand, causing the manhood to grow even more.

They embrace, rubbing each other’s skin, enjoying the feeling.

Naomi pulls Barry down into the bed that they share together. His cock makes contact with her skin.

They get excited.

But there is one place his penis belongs.

Naomi spreads open her thighs. Barry gazes at her vulva, the gateway to her femininity and her fertility.

It is the most beautiful possible sight in the world.

He lays on top of her.

His glans makes contact with her labia.

And he slips his stiff, erect penis inside her sopping wet vagina.

He begins a series of thrusts, his manhood sliding against the walls of her ladyhood.

Their hearts race.

They sweat.

She moans lowly.

They take the time to savor each moment, each stroke, as they may have to be physically far apart for weeks or even months.

Her boobs jiggle as his dick goes in and out of her pussy.

She rubs her hands on his sweaty back.

He runs his hands through her black hair.

Waves of pleasure radiate from her cunt filling her body.

Pleasure Concentrates right into his cock.

He reaches his bursting point.

He grunts primally as he ejaculates his semen, cum shooting out of his pulsating fuck pole and into her feminine passage. Her pussy squeezes his throbbing, pulsating dick as more of his lust in liquid form shoots past her cervix and into her womb.

This is the best part.

Finally, the two lovers are spent. They lay together, naked, their skin touching.

Ooooooo

In a building on Planet Ragna, not far from Barretteburg, a man named Mark Biggs walks through an office. He passes by some cubicles. Some people sit at their desks, other are walking around with files.

Most people would describe Biggs as an ordinary looking man, with brown hair on his head, and a few strands of gray in his brown hair. He exercises regularly, a habit he picked up when he was in the Space Marines, being honorably discharged as a gunnery sergeant after the Robotech Wars ended.

He sits behind his desk. Turning on the Apple HyperMac computer, he logs in. A hologram of a blond-haired woman in a gray suit appears.

She is Lauren Shepard, the Director of Interpol, the premier criminal investigative agency for the United Earth Government.

“Special Agent Biggs,” says the director. “If you can report.”

“Yes, ma’am,” replies Interpol Agent Biggs. “We’ve been investigating Freyja Wion since the declaration of war. Our team has been tapping the phone lines of her place as well as the phone lines and e-mails from both Xaos and Walkure.”

“What about e-mails or any social media accounts?”

“Miss Wion herself has none of those yet. We are tracking any suspicious communication from Xaos or Walkure. Still, we do have an undercover agent on board _Aether_. She can get close to Walkure and Miss Wion.”

oooooo

It is time.

The crew of the Aether prepare for another deployment into deep space, a deployment that could be long term. The engineer looks at the instruments and even inspects the systems directly with their own eyes, looking for anything last minute that has to be fixed.

Captain Johnson sits in his chair on the bridge, hearing about every last status update. His heart races. War is not something he had experienced in twenty three years.

“Gravity pods ready,” says Beth Morton.

“Hyperspace fold drives ready,” says Jennifer Ramos.

“Tower has cleared us for liftoff,” says Nina O’Dell.

The captain makes sure that he is strapped in to his seat.

“Take off,” he says.

The gravity pods spin, pushing against the planet, and the huge carrier lifts off from Xaos’s Ragna Airfield. It rises through the atmosphere. The air becomes more porous at higher elevations, until the carrier reaches the vacuum of space above Ragna.

“Calculations for hyperspace fold completed,” says Beth.

“Activate fold,” says Johnson.

“Activating fold,” says Jennifer, pressing buttons on her console.

The _Aether_ glows, and then folds into hyperspace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The United Earth Forces travel to the outer edge of the Windermere system, preparing for an attack that will end the war.

Space Glows, and the Xaos Corporation carrier _Aether_ defolds from hyperspace, radiating gravitational waves.

“Position is confirmed,” says Beth Morton, a second mate assigned to the _Aether’s _bridge. “We are fifty thousand AU from Windermere IV. I detect thousands of other ships in the vicinity; they appear to be friendly.”

“And there are more defolds, most likely from the other ships assigned here,” says Jennifer Ramos.

“Acknowledged,” says Captain Ernest Johnson.

More and more ships defold from hyperspace, arriving in orbit around the star Windermere, far from any of the planets. This Robotech attack fleet includes ships from the United Nations Spacy, the Tirol Republic, the Zentraedi Nation, as well as many ships from Xaos Corporation.

And one of these ships is the SDF-5 _Ranger_. Its keel had been laid eighteen years before, and it was first deployed in support of the colonization missions after the end of the Robotech Wars. Just under a mile long, painted midnight blue in color, it has a crew complement of nine thousand, and a full combat air wing, including several veritech squadrons.

Most importantly, the SDF-5 serves as a flagship, with advanced communication equipment allowing it to communicate through hyperspace, coordinating entire divisions of ships and troops.

Inside this space battle fortress is a command and control center. With dozens of consoles, an entire battle or campaign can be run from here.

Right now, General Walt Wendell Wilson has command over this command center. He has been constantly updated by his staff, which includes servicemen from the five branches, allowing him to make updates to the battle plan.

“All ships have defolded here, sir,” says an Ocean Patrol lieutenant commander.

“Good,” replies the general. “Let’s make our review, and then we can issue the final orders to the flotillas.”

Oooooo

Delta Team and Walkure meet in a conference room inside the _Aether_. Captain Johnson stands in the back of the room. The table itself has electronic displays.

“Colonel Johnny Wolff from Expeditionary Command will brief us on our ship’s mission,” says the captain.

“Thank you, Captain Johnson,” says the colonel, who wears short sleeve MARPAT camouflage. “The _Aether_ will remain here in the outer edge of the Windermere system along with most of the support vessels. Our flotilla here will serve as a fallback point, while the main fleet folds to Windermere IV.”

“I got no problem with that,” says Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman.

“Don’t talk out of turn. And don’t think this means you won’t see combat; the Windermereans may launch a hit-and-run strike with short-range bombers.”

“What this means, of course, is that Delta Team must launch as soon as the main fleet folds out,” says Johnson. “We must be ready for any contingencies. Dismissed.”

Ooooooo

United Nations Spacy Lieutenant Commander Rachel Krantz walks down a corridor in the _Ranger_. The corridor is busy with activity, as officers, crewmen, and Space Marines walk about to prepare for the upcoming battle with the Kingdom of the Wind. She had just been at a briefing with the senior officers of the SDF-5. It is now time to brief her subordinates.

She soon reaches a briefing room. It is a large room, with a large screen in the back. Already in the room are U.N. Spacy officers in service khakis. More officers enter the room.

Finally, all of Skull Squadron is gathered.

They all look at their commander. She is a tall woman with blond hair, appearing to be in her mid-thirties. She had been Skull Leader for two years now.

“Okay, team, listen up,” says Skull Leader. “The Expeditionary Fleet will fold to Windermere IV to destroy its orbital defenses and force a surrender. Our job will be to provide support.

Skull Squadron has had a heritage spanning sixty years. Our predecessors were there during the first battle of the First Robotech War, and the last battle of the last Robotech War. Half of you had not been born yet when the Robotech Wars ended. We have now been called upon to do our part in this battle, a battle that may end this war. It is time for us to all rise to the occasion. We can do it, team!”

The Skull Squadron veritech pilots raise their fists. “yes, ma’am!” they exclaim.

“Let’s get in our gear and let’s get going,” says Commander Krantz.

Oooooo

Many people pray in preparation for the upcoming battle with Windermere, with prayers often led by chaplains from the United Nations Spacy Chaplain Corps.

“Just as there are times of peace, there are times of war. May we be guided by the Noble Eightfold Path.”

“Put on your spiritual armor. Just as Christ bore His Cross, so we must bear our cross. We ask that He helps up carry our cross, as Simon of Cyrene carried the Cross of Christ. We ask this in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

“We beseech unto God that we may all come home to our families. But know this, any and all of us who fall in our battle against the Windermerean infidels shall be guaranteed Paradise.”

“We now approach the time of the Hunt, and our hunting ground is the planet Windermere IV. May Cernunnos, The Lord of the Hunt, be with us. May His arrows strike the Windermereans. Earth must be fed.”

Ooooooooooo

“How are you feeling?” asks Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield, walking down a corridor in the _Aether_ towards the hangar deck.

“As ready as I can be,” replies Wing Commandeer Arad Mulder.

“None of us can ever be completely 100% ready for this sort of thing.”

“You look ready.”

“I did get a message from my mom yesterday. Haven’t returned it yet.”

“Maybe you should, Messer. We don’t know if we’ll get another opportunity.”

“How do you contact your family, Arad? Lucky Island does not have e-mail.”

“I could have used a web site that prints out letters for print mail,” replies the wing commander. “I figured a certified hand-written letter was more fitting for this occasion.”

Oilfield had heard of the story of the people of Lucky Island, located on Planet Earth. For thirty-three years, the people on the island had believed that they were the sum total of all humanity.

The two men finally reach the hangar deck. The Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighters are all waiting. The mechanics are done.

Mulder walks to his blue-trimmed veritech. Below the canopy is stenciled **W/C ARAD MULDER “ISLANDER” **

He climbs up a ladder into the cockpit. He turns on the instruments, making some final checks before he is ready for takeoff.

He had not been in serious combat before. Sure, during his service in the Space Marines’ Knight Squadron, he had flown in anti-piracy missions. But this is not some mission to root our space pirates. And even though _Aether_ and Delta Team are staying at the fallback position, with hundreds of other vessels, there is no guarantee that the Windermerean Space Force would _not_ attack here.

And of course Walkure is here as a precaution against any Var syndrome outbreaks.

Finally, it is time.

All instruments are green.

The wing commander taxies his veritech to the left, which lifts him up to the flight deck.

He looks and can see the many vessels assigned to the fallback position. At 50,000 AU, the Windermere sun appears indistinguishable from the other stars in the background.

“Wing Commander Arad Mulder, callsign Islander, ready for takeoff,” says Mulder.

“Air Boss to Islander, you are clear for takeoff.”

“Roger that, Air Boss.”

He pushes the throttle forward, and the catapult launched the Siegfried into space.

Soon, the others of Delta Team join their wing commander. They fly in a protective screen around the _Aether_.

“Glad you can join us,” says Rouge Leader, the commander of the _Leonard’s_ Rouge Squadron.

Oooooo

Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere steps into the chamber. The chamber has stone columns and a platform. He had been told it had been constructed by the Robotech Masters centuries ago, as a device to help them maintain control over the clones whom they ruled.

He wears a cloak and a large bowtie around the collar of his shirt. He is here on official royal business, so he will dress in royal clothes.

His mother stands behind him, wearing an elaborate dress. Also standing behind him is Chancellor Roid Brehm.

He starts singing the Song of the Wind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The United Nations strikes back at Windermere.

“All ships in the attack fleet are ready,” says a Space Marine lieutenant sitting at a console inside the SDF-5’s command and control center.

A hologram of a teal-haired woman appears. She is the avatar of the Enhanced Video Emulation System.

“All calculations for fleetwide hyperspace fold are completed,” she says. “External transit time is three seconds.”

“Good,” says General Walt Wendell Wilson. “Begin the countdown at once.”

“Hyperspace fold in Ten..”

Commander Krantz sits inside a white VF-31 Siegfried, with its custom black and yellow trim. She checks the instruments for any last-second issues that might hamper her ability to fight in the imminent battle.

The SDF-5 _Ranger_ and the thousands of ships assigned to the attack fleet glow, and then fold into hyperspace.

Three seconds later, from an external point of view, the expeditionary attack fleet defolds.

“In..terf..,” says the E.V.E.

“We detect a large planet sized mass,” says a voice over the speaker. “It is Windermere IV.”

“Then we will send out the first wave at once,” says General Wilson.

And so the first wave- automated aerospace attack drones- are deployed from the carriers and cruisers. They engage the targets.

“Time for the second wave,” says the general.

Elsewhere in the SDF-5, the veritech fighters of Skull Squadron are lifted to the flight deck.

“This is Skull Leader,” says Commander Krantz. “Ready for takeoff.”

“Air Boss to Skull Leader, you are clear,”replies the _Ranger’s_ Air Boss.

She pushes the throttle forward, and her veritech is launched out into space.

“Skull Leader is in the air,” she says.

More and more fighters deploy from the _Hunter_-class carriers. The pilots can see the enemy ships ahead.

“Looks like our cannon fodder is messing with their cannon fodder,” says Skull Leader.

“Skull three to all ships,” says another pilot. “I’m detecting more enemy bogeys, possibly fighters.”

Not too far away, Master Hermann Kross looks at the instrumentational of his own veritech fighter, the SV-262 Draken. It is a sleek, triangular shaped aircraft in its fighter mode.

“Old Knight to Air Boss, ready for takeoff,” he says.

“Air Boss to Old Knight, you are clearly to go,” says the Air boss.

Hermann pushes the throttle, propelling hot gases from the engine and pushing the Draken out into space.

“White Knight to Air Boss, ready for takeoff,” says Keith Aero Windermere.

“Air Boss to White Knight, you are clear.”

Keith takes off in his Draken.

“Blood Knight is ready to kill some Earth people!” yells Bogue Con-Vaart.

Elsewhere, Commander Krantz looks at her radar screen.

“Skull Leader to Skull Squadron,” she says. “Engage!”

And so the Siegfrieds engage the Windermerean fighters.

Krantz lines up and enemy fighter in her sights.

She squeezes the trigger.

The fighter explodes in a flash!

“Scratch one,” says Skull Leader.

They continue their dance, with Skull Squadron’s veritechs frequently shifting between fighter, guardian, and battloid mode.

Inside one of the scout ships, the bridge crew watches the monitors at their consoles inside the cramped bridge.

“Do you hear that?’ asks one of the crewmen, wearing light armor over her overalls.

“Yeah, sounds like a song,” says an officer.

“Turn off that music!” commands the captain.

Something seems to penetrate her very soul.

Veins bulge out.

There is a blank look in her eyes.

There is a blank look in everyone’s eyes.

Suddenly, the ships are firing on each other. There are huge explosions.

The fighter pilots are confused- or at least the ones who are still in their right minds.

“Why are they..” says Skull Three.

His image on Skull Leader’s screen disappears.

His VF-31 Siegfried explodes in a fireball. 

“Another one burned to a crisp!” yells Bogue.

Krantz soon engages in battle with the White Knight, Keith Aero Windermere.

The Siegfried and the Draken dance as they fire at each other, shifting between modes.

Keith shifts into battloid mode, his Draken now appearing to be a giant humanoid armor, forty feet tall.

He opens fire.

The VF-31 Siegfried veritech is destroyed in a fireball, scattering robotechnology debris all around. .

Lieutenant Commander Rachel Krantz becomes the second Skull Leader to be killed due to combat.

More and more of the Earth ships are destroyed as they fire on each other, their officers and crew under the influence of Var syndrome.

The SDF-5 _Ranger_ takes heavy fire.

General Wilson and his command staff would notice, if they were not already under the influence of Var syndrome.

There is a crack, and air suddenly starts leaking up.

The general is sucked up to the ceiling, his body briefly blocking the breach.

And then a huge section of bulkhead tears free, with Wilson and his command staff being sucked out into the vacuum of space.

Elsewhere in the robotech battle fortress, the XO crawls into the backup bridge. He is one of the few that were not infected. A spreading blood stain on his light armor is evidence that the others who were infected had gravely wounded him.

He knows this is a losing battle. 

He has to save the ship.

He presses a few buttons on the console.

The SDF-5 _Ranger_ glows, and then folds into hyperspace.

Oooooooo

For the past few minutes, the crew of the _Aether_, and the pilots of Delta Team, have been waiting. There had been no word from the attack fleet, let alone a Windermerean fleet detachment attacking them.

And then, an important word comes from a United Nations Spacy rear admiral in charge of the fallback fleet.

“We have a distress call from the _Ranger_,” he says. “I repeat, we have a distress call from the Ranger. They were infected with Var and have folded away.”

“Send us the coordinates, sir!” yells Captain Johnson.

The coordinates are received.

There is no time to loose.

The _Aether_, the _Leonard_, and the _Hippocrates_-class hospital ship U.E.S. _Moses_ _Maimonides_ fold away.

Oooooooo

Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman looks at the robotech battle fortress, his fighter and the rest of Delta Team having been folded to this location along with the _Aether_.

There are many holes; the young Xaos veritech pilot can see the interior of the ship in many places.

Inside the _Ikazuchi_-class carrier _Anatole Leonard_, Captain Ken Chae sees the same thing.

He presses a button next to his seat.

“Dan, this is Ken,” he says. “Scramble a Marine infantry unit. We need you to prepare a boarding action.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Brett Waterman, the commander of the Leonard’s Space Marine detachment.

Swiftly, the colonel gathers a platoon of Space Marines, and they are all decked in heavy armor. They board a short-range tender shuttle used for boarding actions.

“Standby,” Chae says to Waterman and the Space marine boarding party. “We need to wait for the concert.”

Oooooooo

Inside the _Aether’s_ observation lounge, Walkure and their support team have gathered, preparing to sing.

“Let’s try out this new song,” says Kaname Buccaneer. She looks at Freyja Wion. “Freyja.”

Freyja begins singing the new song “When the Rune Sings”.

The others provide backup vocals.

Dr. Naomi Singh looks at her bio fold wave detector, seeing that the band is radiating the bio fold waves.

_Woh-woh-woh-woh_

The waves reach the people on board the Ranger.

The bulging veins on their faces and necks deflated.

Their cloudy minds become clearer.

“It’s working,” says an officer on board the _Aether_. Var activity on the SDF-5 is diminishing.

“Keep it up, Walkure,” says Captain Johnson.

oooooooo

“Stork to Air Boss,” says the Space Marine pilot, “ready for takeoff.”

“Air Boss to Stork, you are clear,” replies the _Leonard’s_ air boss.

The shuttle takes off. Within a few minutes, it lands in the SDF-5’s flight deck, not bothering to radio for clearance. Colonel Waterman and his platoon go through the doors and into the corridors.

“We’re Space Marines from the _Leonard_!” yells the colonel.

“Sir,” says a Spacy crewman clad in light armor. “What happened? We were in battle and…and I blacked out somehow.”

“We’re here to find out,” replies Waterman.

“Many sections of the ship are sealed, sir,” says a gunnery sergeant. “No doubt due to hull depressurization.”

“Let’s find survivors,” says the colonel. “There may be injured that we need to bring over to the hospital ship.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith says goodbye to his wife before he deploys.

The Aerial Knights of the Kingdom of the Wind land their SV-232 Draken veritech fighters onto the flight deck of the Space Force carrier. They all descend into the hangar deck via a lift. Crews of mechanics clad in overalls run to examine the robotech war machines, some of them carrying plastic toolboxes. The place has a faint smell of grease and other lubricants.

Bogue Con-Vaart climbs down his the cockpit of his fighter.

“It was too easy,” he says. “Most of the pilots were disabled by that song. They were even easier than the Earth drones.”

“I don’t mind easy,” says Xao Jussila. “I mean, it makes it easier to get back alive, ya know.”

“We should be grateful,” says Master Hermann Kross. “I once served with the people who are now our enemies. My superiors were those who fought against the Invid and the Haydonites over twenty years ago, before you or your brother or young Con-Vaart were born.”

He looks at Xao and his brother Theo. They look alike, for they are identical twins. They both have pale skin and short blue hair. They had such raw talent, doing better than most veritech pilot trainees. They both eagerly accepted when they were offered a spot in the Aerial Knights.

Kross then glances at Bogue. A young man, about nineteen years of age, with red hair reaching the shoulders. Bogue had always been a very competitive person, wanting to prove himself against tougher and tougher challenges. The young Knight apparently had not fully grasped the concept that the penalty for losing this type of competition is death.

Then there is Qasim Eberhart. A man in his late twenties, he is hug, with pale skin and black hair. A black line is painted across his face. He had been a loyal Knight for the past seven years.

Keith Aero Windermere stands apart, staying silent- a pensive look in his eyes.

Oooooooooo

United Nations space Marines Third Lieutenant Olivia Gashtar wakes up. She looks and finds herself in an unfamiliar place. It looks like a large, general purpose berthing area. She can smell a slight musty smell. Many People here, of all sorts of hair and skin colors.

“Liv,” calls out a man dressed in MARPAT camouflage trousers and a sleeveless olive-drab cotton shirt.

“Pete,” she replies, speaking to Third Lieutenant Petros Pailalogos.

“Is everyone all right?”

“Major Arden’s here as well.”

“Where are we?”

Pete points.

Liv can see an armed guard standing at a pair of double doors.

There is not much to do except talk with the others in the room.

How many of Knight Squadron had survived?

Three people walk in. Liv notices their clothes have this utilitarian look; they must be the Windermerean equivalent of a Class “A” duty uniform.

“Soldiers of the United Nations of Earth,” says one of them, who is clearly an officer. “Your attack against our home planet has failed. You are all prisoners of war.

The guards will show you around the facility. There are basic rations available three times a day. You may do chores in exchange for credits to purchase luxury items.

“Some of you that we captured had been seriously injured in battle. They are presently receiving treatment at hospitals on Windermere, and we will transfer them here once they recover.

The guards will show you to the mess hall, gymnasium, and the shower and toilet facilities. There is clean water available for drinking all day and all night. As a show of good faith, that we will treat you in accordance with the laws and customs of war common to all civilized, star faring nations, we shall provide a gift of fresh fruit.”

A woman wearing camouflage wheels in a cart. There are baskets.

And in the baskets are apples.

Many of the new prisoners of war line up to get an apple.

Soon, pamphlets are provided to the prisoners inside this berthing area.

Liv and Pete look at them. The pamphlets are laminated, and one side is printed in English, the other side is printed in Chinese.

They, and the others, wonder how long they will be here.

Oooooooo

The Windermere Royal Palace sits on a plateau in the mountains, next to a canyon, standing over ten thousand feet above sea level. The massive, imposing structure serves as the headquarters of the King and the Windermerean Royal Court. From the front balcony, a person can look over the capital city of Darwent, which houses forty thousand souls.

There are of course many rooms inside the palace, including the throne room, ballroom, an armory, and some offices and storerooms.

And there is a press room.

Dozens of reporters, all of them Royal Palace correspondents, are inside. They all have security badges clipped to their coats. Cameramen aim television cameras at the wooden podium in the back.

A woman wearing serious-looking clothing enters the room and stands behind a wooden podium.

“Honored guests,” she says. “I now introduce His Excellency Roid Brehm, Chancellor of the Kingdom of the wind.

And then Chancellor Brehm walks on the stage, dressed in his white outfit.

“Thank you, thank you,” says the chancellor. “Seven hours ago, the United Nations launched an attack against our planet. Our Space Force utterly defeated them.”

Reporters start asking questions.

“I will not get into details of how Earth’s forces were defeated. But my message is this. We, the kingdom and the people of Windermere, can not be pushed around. We will not be dominated. We were not dominated by the Robotech Masters, and we will not be dominated by the United Nations! And we will not tolerate their domination of the Brisingr Globular Cluster!”

He walks away and passes through the hallways of the Royal Palace, with many of the staffers and Royal Guards acknowledging the Chancellor.

Brehm reaches a set of finely-carved double doors, guarded by two Royal Guards.

“Your Majesty,” one of the Guards says to a microphone, “His Excellency the Chancellor is here.” He then faces the Chancellor. “You may enter, sir.”

He walks through he doors, seeing a luxurious living room with very high-quality furniture. Removing his shoes, he walks along a hallway and into a bedroom.

Several people are inside. One of them is a man with lavender hair, pale skin, and a lavender goatee. He wears a regal-looking white coat over his shirt and trousers.

He is Gramis Nerich Windermere, the King of the Wind. Standing beside him is a woman in a very regal gown, who is his queen.

“Gramis, how is Heinz?” asks Brehm.

“He is tired,” replies the king.

Brehm looks at Heinz Nerich Windermere. The boy is sleeping soundly in his bed, his hair scattered around the pillow.

“I will not sacrifice my brother’s life for our plans,” says Keith Aero Windermere.

“My son,” says Gramis, “he is the only Wind Singer we have.”

“That is true, my lord,” says Brehm. “Which is why we must not exhaust him too much, and build up our more conventional forces so that they can at least put up a stand up fight. The United Nations was dealt a major defeat today.”

“Perhaps this means we can get them to negotiate a peace,” says Keith.

“that would sound good,” says the queen. “Heinz is very young to do this.”

“I must take that under consideration with His Majesty, the rest of the Royal Court,” says the Chancellor.

“There must be meetings,” says Gramis. “Let us go, Roid.”

“Sure thing.”

Oooooooo

The conference room inside the Secretary General’s Palace is packed. Plenty of staffers- both civilian and military=- are inside, after having heard about Windermere announcing its victory over the United nations at its home planet.

Secretary General Nozawa Noriko walks in, a furious look in her face. She adjusts her glasses.

“Report, Admiral Chen,” she says.

“Earlier today, about eight hours ago, General Wilson of Expeditionary Command led an attack force of over ten thousand ships to Windermere for a counterattack, with the intention of forcing an unconditional surrender,” says Admiral Chen Tzu. “The SDF-5 Ranger folded away to a location about six parsecs away, and the survivors there reported an outbreak of Var syndrome. The band Walkure was deployed to sing and treat the Var outbreak on board the ship.”

“Where is the SDF-5?” asks Galactic Security Advisor Marie Crystal.

“SDF-5 has been towed to Space Station Harmony for full repairs,” replies the admiral, “while the rest of the flotilla has since folded back to Space Station Brisingr. The ships of the attack fleet have been destroyed or captured.”

“Do you realize what this means, Admiral Chen?” asks the Secretary General. “Already, I have received scathing communications from one hundred member states! How could we lose in an all-out counterstrike against Windermere itself? Over ten thousand ships, hundreds of thousand either dead or missing! Member state confidence in the administration has plummeted to all-time lows.”

“Your Excellency, we will review the data from the _Ranger_.”

“Any new demands from Windermere?” asks Nozawa.

“No, ma’am,” replies Crystal. “No communication of any new demands.”

“We need to find out how one little planet could all but destroy our Expeditionary Fleet,” says Secretary General Nozawa. “There’s no time to waste; let’s get to it!”

Ooooooooo

The mood is somber among the crews of both the _Aether_ and the _Leonard_.

Many of them had been granted shore leave top visit Space Station Brisingr, a space habitat under the jurisdiction of the United Earth Government, and the location of the main United Earth Forces supply base in the Cluster.

Walkure and Delta Team all meet inside a bar and grill. Music is played, and all the televisions are tuned in to sports channels. Most of the customers are in civilian clothes, though there are a few uniformed personnel from the _Leonard_ and other United Nations military ships. Typical bar food is served such as jalapeno poppers, mozzarella cheesesticks, onion rings, chicken tenders, buffalo wings, soft pretzels with spicy mustard and melted beer cheese, various types of hamburgers and sandwiches, and entrees like steak and chicken and pork. Beer is served in pitchers.

“I was hoping the war would be over,” says Freyja Wion.

“That is your country, right?” asks Hayate Immelman.

“I don’t want my family killed,. I was hoping that they would stop the war after finding out how powerful the Earth people were.”

“It did not surprise me,” says Arad Mulder. “I mean, Windermere must have had some trick up its sleeve to avoid being annihilated by the entirety of the United Earth Forces.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” replies Hayate, dipping a cheesestick into some spicy marinara sauce. “too bad Messer’s missing this.”

“He decided to catch up on paperwork, as usual,” says Chuck Mustang. “I mean, he wants to keep things professional.”

“I wish there was something we could do about your family,” says Kaname Buccaneer.

“Yeah, I mean, I had that falling out with them due to them wanting to marry, but…”

“Sterling! Mirage Sterling! Is that you?” asks a female voice. 

They all look and see a woman with her blond hair tied in a ponytail. She wears service khakis worn by United Nations Spacy officers. A single row of ribbons pinned to the left side of her chest tell the story of her service.

“Ann,” says Mirage Sterling, standing up.

She embraces the woman.

“I guess I should introduce myself,” says the woman named Ann. “Second Lieutenant Ann Campbell, United Nations Spacy, veritech fighter pilot, callsign Rouge Eight.”

“How do you know Lieutenant Campbell?” Hayate asks Mirage.

“Ann played basketball with me at the Academy in Samsun,” she replies. “After I left the Academy, I made sure to go to every game they played against Ohio State.”

“I got my service obligation to fulfill, and then I can go to the pros.”

Arad Mulder makes a sideways glance at Mirage’s friend, not wanting to say that the war has diminished her chance of survival.

“Allow me to introduce my colleagues here,” says Mirage. She introduces not Delta Team and Walkure, one by one. “Squadron Leader Oilfield isn’t here; he said he had to catch up on paperwork.

Makina Nakajima takes a sip of beer. “Where are your friends?”

“Well, some members of my squadron got shore leave and we’re sitting over there,” answers Ann. “Commander Yamada- he’s Rouge Leader and my commanding officer- could not make it. Had paperwork.”

“I guess that’s the curse of leadership,” says Reina Prowler.

“I manage to make time to go out,” says Kaname.

“Running a band is far different from running a ship,” says Hayate. “Captain Johnson’s still aboard the _Aether_.”

“Or running a restaurant,” says Chuck. “Dad spends as much time doing paperwork as he does cooking.”

“I hope Captain Chae gives us shore leave the next time we’re in orbit around Ragna,” says Ann.

Mirage holds Ann by the shoulders. “Good to see you,” she says. “Maybe next time.”

Oooooooo

Chancellor Roid Brehm sits in his office in the Windermere Royal Palace, reading up on some reports. Most of the reports are on the war with the United Nations.

He reads more reports on the various ruins the Robotech Masters left behind in the Cluster. These ruins are the key.

Suffering begets suffering.

Vengeance begets vengeance.

Evil begets evil.

Not if the Chancellor had his way…

The telephone rings.

“Chancellor Brehm here,” he says.

“Your Excellency, the Grand Vizier from Draxus is on the line, requesting a holographic connection,” says his secretary.

“Patch him through.”

“Yes, sir.”

A hologram appears in Brehm’s office. He appears to be a pale skinned man with blue hair and blue eyes. His outfit seems to scream business.

Chancellor Brehm recognizes him as Grand Vizier Battlar of the Invid Regency, the head of the Invid Royal Court in Mlama Palace on Planet Draxus.

“Hello, my friend,” says Brehm.

“Hello, my friend,” replies the Grand Vizier.

“How is the Regent?”

“My Lord Regent is doing well.”

“And the Regess Dowager?”

“She is still unlocking the secrets of the Flower of Life.”

Chancellor Brehm recalls that the Flower of Life is the raw, crude material for protoculture. Scientists all over the galaxy believe the plant is the oldest known multicellular life form in the galaxy, possibly the Universe.

“It has been too long since you have paid an official state visit to Windermere.”

“Perhaps soon,” replies Battlar. “I was expecting that you would have had to unconditionally surrender to the United Nations by now, or else be annihilated. It was so hard to believe that you actually repelled a full scale assault from an overwhelming force. His Grace the Regent actually had to directly speak with the captain of our scout ship that monitored the battle, in order to believe it.”

“Perhaps you should consider joining the winning team.”

“I agree with my Lord Regent that the Regency shall remain neutral in your war. Compliance with the Grand Armistice has kept us out of war for over twenty years. But while we will remain neutral in terms of war, perhaps we can mediate a peace.”

“Mediate peace?”

“Of course,” answers the Grand Vizier. “The leadership of the United Earth Government must be in disarray over this humiliating defeat that you delivered them. Our sources indicate that the member states have little confidence in Secretary General Nozawa. It would be an excellent time to offer peace terms, so that she may salvage her reputation.”

“Perhaps we should let the Earth government run around in panic for a while.”

“It would be unwise for you to wait too long, my friend. Nozawa is politically off-balance, for now. Once she and the Earth people harden their resolve, find their balance, they might not be as amenable to peace talks, even if the Karbarran Confederation- let alone the Regency- were to mediate.”

“Farewell.”

“One more question before I attend another important meeting. How is the harvest of the Flower?” asks Battlar.

“Excellent,” replies Chancellor Brehm.

Ooooooooooo

“She’s seen better days,” says the Chief of Spacy Operations.

He and Admiral Chen Tzu look at the SDF-5 Ranger through a thick glass window inside an observation room in the United Nations Spacy shipyard in Space Station Harmony. Space Station Harmony is a huge space habitat, about fifty miles across. It is a major strategic base for the United Earth Forces, housing over three hundred thousand people.

The SDF-5 had been brought here by fold tugs, as Brisingr did not have the facilities to repair a ship of this size. The two admirals can see very many holes in the hull of the robotech battle fortress. Already, engineers are working on the ship, using all sorts of equipment, including welding torches.

“To think that Windermere could do this,” says Chen.

“I remember when I was her captain fifteen years ago,” says the CSO. “So many memories of her. To see her like that.”

“The important thing is this,” says the Supreme Commander. “We need the data from the SDF-5, get it to the Joint Staff. We need to find out how the Windermereans defeated an armada of over ten thousand ships.”

“I agree, sir.”

“Then let us head back to Galaxy City. I must meet with the Joint Chiefs, including you, Admiral.”

Oooooooooo

Keith Aero Windermere walks through the halls of the Royal Palace, having had his practice session. He had been told by Chancellor Brehm that the Aerial Knights will soon deploy to the Moon Voldor. Bogue, Theo, and Xao went out to the capital city of Darwent. Keith himself has had several jaunts into town.

He unlocks the door and enters his apartment inside the palace. It is finely furbished, finer than the finest hotel suites in Darwent or Ruraphin. He removes his shoes, letting his bare feet sink into the plush carpet.

And inside the living room is one of the most beautiful sights he had seen. She is a woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. She wears a simple, if lovely, dress.

“Hello, darling,” she says.

“Bianca, I must tell you that I and the Aerial Knights will deploy to Voldor tomorrow morning,” says Keith.

“The war.”

“It is policies of state.”

“Yes, Keith,” she says. “You took the oath.”

“I am second, so in addition to training in the sims to keep my skills sharp, I helped Hermann with all of the details needed to keep the Knights operational. But I…I just want to be with you.”

The two of them east a dinner prepared from the kitchen. It is very simple, a salad with various leafy greens, sliced roots, and fruits, with this vinaigrette dressing, and a plate with cubed meats and starchy roots with this peppered gravy. Apple wine is available to wash it down.

“I wish we could get away from the Royal Palace for once,” says Bianca.

“Yes, there is the Royal Retreat,” replies Keith.

They watch television. There is a news interview about a Windermerean who had joined the United Nations Space Marines, only to be discharged in the middle of boot camp because the war started.

Finally, it is time to retire.

Keith and Bianca kiss.

Their hearts begin to race.

Keith savors every touch of the woman that he had married, the woman whom he will spend the rest of his life with.

Clothes are peeled off, falling to the plushly carpeted bedroom floor, revealing more and more of their bodies.

Soon, they are completely nude, fully revealed to each other.

Keith looks at Bianca. He sees the blond hair reaching the shoulders, the pale skin, her fully exposed breasts with their nipples, the swell of her hips, her legs, and the blond fuzz just above her feminine opening.

Bianca gazes at her husband’s nude form, the sculpted chest, the blond hair, blue eyes, and clean-shaven face. She looks at his penis at the juncture of his legs. The male organ is already stiff, erect, and throbbing, anticipating entry into the very core of her womanhood.

They embrace, feeling each other’s smooth skin. They run their hands through each other’s blond hair.

They breathe heavily.

Their hearts race.

Bianca lies down on the bed under the canopy. Keith pushes her legs apart. He gazes at her vulva, the gateway to her femininity and her fertility, the most beautiful sight in this Universe. He can see the labia and the little clit. The lady lips part slightly.

That is his invitation.

He lays on top of her.

He feels her softness beneath him.

She feels his body heat.

His dick gets even harder as it touches her cunt lips.

She feels the glans of his manhood touching her feminine gate.

And then he thrust his penis inside her vagina, going deep until his glans reaches her cervix, the gateway to her womb.

They enjoy each other, the feeling of her pussy wrapped around his dick, and the feeling of his dick stretching her pussy. They had felt this many times ever since they got married, but neve r tired of feeling it again.

After a few minutes, he starts thrusting in and out of her, his cock sliding against the walls of her cunt.

They sweat.

Their hearts race.

Her tits jiggle with each thrust.

His dick throbs wildly.

Her pussy muscles squeeze his rock hard fuck tool.

He caresses her boobs, feeling their softness, while she feels the heat of his palms.

The thrusts become easier as her cuntal sheath becomes slicker with feminine lubricant.

He speeds up; she bucks to meet his faster and faster thrusts.

They sweat even more.

They rub each other’s skin and run their hands through each other’s hair.

She moans.

He grunts.

Memories of their courtship, their wedding, and their time and husband and wife act as garnish to the feeling of their most intimate of places being united.

Waves of pleasure radiate from her cunt.

Passion and lust focus into his cock.

It is time.

Keith erupts, sending his sperm right into Bianca’s feminine core. He continues his thrusts as he spurts out his lust and passion in liquid form.

Finally, his nuts are drained.

The husband and wife lay there naked; his penis inside her vagina, savoring every moment, wondering if this is the last night that the two lovers will be together.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The United Earth Forces devises a plan to find out how windermere conquered Voldor and repelled the U.N. counterattack

“We are now docked with the _Aether_,” says a voice over the speaker.

General T.R. Andrews gets up from his chair at his desk inside his stateroom inside the interstellar transport ship. He walks outside and his aide, an Army sergeant first class, joins him. Soon, they are joined by more people from the Xaos Corporation. Among them is a woman with long aquamarine hair, dressed in a pink suit. She is Lady M, the CEO of Xaos.

The general has a grim look on his face. He had attended a memorial service for General Walt Wendell Wilson, who was killed in that battle over Windermere. He had read the preliminary reports from the recovered data from the SDF-5 _Ranger_.

They pass through an airlock, entering the Xaos carrier. They all walk along the corridors, passing by crewmen clad in overalls.

Soon, they all enter a room. It is a large conference room, with a table with a glass surface. Several people are in the room, among them a large, green-skinned man that Lady M recognizes as Captain Ernest Johnson.

“Lady M,” says the captain.

“Captain Johnson,” says Lady M. “Allow me to introduce General T.R. Andrews from Defense Command. As you should know from the memo my office sent, _Aether_ is now supporting Defense Command in its campaign to defend the member states in the Cluster.”

“Nice to meet you all,” says Andrews. He looks at the flashy-dressed young women sitting at the table. “I take it this is the band Walkure.”

“Yes, we are,” says a red-haired woman wearing a white blouse. “I am Kaname Buccaneer, the manager of the band. Allow me to introduce Mikumo Guynemer, Reina Prowler, Makina Nakajima, and Freyja Wion.”

The others smile.

“Let me explain the situation,” says the general. “Data retrieved from the SDF-5 _Ranger_ has revealed a Var syndrome outbreak among the attack fleet, as some of you may be aware.”

The others nod; Walkure had to sing a song to treat the surviving crew of the SDF-5.

“The ships were firing at each other,” continues Andrews “The SDF-5 was hit primarily by fire from other United Earth ships. General Wilson was in the fleet command center when the hull breach…killed him.”

“I’m sorry,” says Captain Johnson.

“Walt never stopped at anything to do his job. Anyway, we need to know how these Windermereans are doing this, using Var syndrome to control people like puppets. That is where Walkure and Delta Team come in. They are immune due to the repeated exposure, or at least that is what I have heard from the Surgeon General’s office. They can be inserted into the moon Voldor to get a closer look.”

“General, the Windermereans would likely have sensor satellites all over the system,” says Johnson. “They will detect a defold.”

“Which they have been doing for the past two days ever since they occupied Voldor,” says General Andrews. “We have been sending scout ships and scout probes into the area around the moon. A defold far away enough will be able to mask the _Aether’s _and _Leonard’s_ sizes.”

“We should be able to come up with a draft plan, sir,” says Captain Ken Chae.

“Colonel Wolff here will be your liaison from Defense Command,” says Andrews.

“Well, here I am, Captain Johnson,” says Colonel Johnny Wolff, wearing MARPAT camouflage. “I’m reassigned on your ship again.”

“Then Squadron Leader Oilfield, Miss Buccaneer, and I shall meet with you for a preliminary draft plan, Colonel,” says Wing Commander Arad Mulder. He and the squadron leader leave the conference room with the Space Marine colonel.

Oooooo

Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman bites into the Philly cheese steak wrap, savoring the juicy beef, provolone cheese, grilled onions, and sautéed mushrooms.

“So they’re having us do Solid Snake stuff now,” says the young veritech pilot, suiting inside the _Aether’s_ mess hall.

“What’s Solid Snake?” asks Freyja.

“Terran mythological reference. He was a super spy.”

“Like Ran Poicano?”

“I guess so.” Hayate is not too familiar with Windermerean pop culture or mythology.

Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang takes a bite out of his wrap. “Well, we’re the only ones who can do it,” he says. “We’ve been exposed so much to Walkure’s music that Var can’t get us.”

“Walkure going down to Voldor,” says Flying Officer Mirage Sterling, sipping an ice tea. “We are Delta Team. Our job is protecting Walkure.”

“There is something I want to ask, Mirage,” says Makina. “You said you played basketball at the United Earth Forces Academy, but never said you finished. What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Yes, we’d better be preparing ourselves for our mission,” says Reina.

Freyja stands up from her seat.

“Listen, everyone,” she says. “I did not want war between my people and the United Nations. If we can find out how the Windermere forces have managed to conquer Voldor and repel the attack against my home planet, and stop them from doing it again, maybe we can convince Windermere to enter peace talks.”

Everyone claps.

“Thanks, Fre-Fre,” says Makina.

Ooooooooooo

U.N. Spacy Shipyard Robotech Factory Satellite is one of the most important shipbuilding facilities in the United Nations, and has been for over half a century. Many cruisers, scout ships, gunships, and colony ships have been constructed here, including the first ships to carry the United Nations flag beyond the Sol system.

Inside, there is a special event, attended by the military in their full dress uniforms, and the press.

It is the opening voyage of the newest _Hunter_-class carrier, the U.E.S. _Marie Crystal_, HSCRV- 121, named after the retired Supreme Commander and current Galactic Security Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations. The ship’s namesake is among the guests, wearing her Air Force dress blues, with four stars on each shoulder.

The Chief of Spacy Operations, wearing his dress whites including all the medals and ribbons telling the story of over a quarter century’s active duty, stands beside a podium.

“I want to thank the General Assembly for funding the construction of this vessel,” says the admiral. “And most importantly, I want to thank the shipyard workers who assembled this ship.”

Many of the workers- military and civilian- applaud.

“And now, it is my duty, as Chief of Spacy Operations for the United Nations Spacy, to officially christen this ship the _Marie Crystal_!” he announces.

He inserts a bottle of champagne into a slot in the window behind him. The champagne is then launched towards the giant space carrier. Soon it strikes the hull, sending droplets of champagne and glass fragments everywhere.

Marie Crystal approaches the admiral, with whom she had a working relationship for two decades.

“Going for a ride?” she asks.

“No, Marie,” replies the CSO. “I have to go back to Galaxy City. Another meeting of the Joint Chiefs.”

“You take care.”

Crystal walks towards the docking connector leading her to the interior of the robotech space carrier that had been christened after her.

ooooooooo

Colonel Wolff enters Captain Johnson’s office as the latter is reading some e-mails.

“We have the final draft of our plan to infiltrate Voldor, Captain,” says the Space Marine colonel. “Defense Command has given us a coded message to proceed.”

“Then we shall summon everyone,” replies Johnson.

Ooooooooo

Again, Walkure and Delta Team are inside the conference room. Holographic images appear on the screen.

“Colonel Wolff will deliver the briefing,” says Johnson.

“We will fold to a trajectory taking us right above the main planet of Vold,” says Wolff. “It has a ring system and the _Aether_ will hide there. The planet’s second moon is Voldor. As of now, scout ships continually fold in and out of the system. From what intelligence has told us, the Windermereans have a system of scout ships and satellites to watch for any offensives. Their flotilla would normally be no match for a fleet division, let alone an entire fleet, but we run the risk of repeating the result that we got when we struck against their home world with the near-entirety of our Expeditionary Fleet. They are not expecting a surgical strike team. What we will do is hack into their system. Miss Prowler will do the honors. It will give us a window of opportunity to insert Walkure and Delta Team.”

“I can definitely hack into their system as soon as I get a connection,” says Reina. “But once I hack, we must act fast, as if the subroutine is reset, then they will be able to detect us again.”

“When, not if, _when_, things go south, a detachment from the Spacy’s Brisingr Division Fleet will be on hand to assist with the extraction,” says the colonel.

“It starts with you, Reina,” says Johnson. “Delta Team, suit up and get ready to launch as soon as you get the command.”

Reina walks down the hallway, taking a Side-a-Vator, and enters a room with computer terminals. She sits in a leather chair, watched over by Makina and Freyja, and holographic consoles appear.

She starts typing and pointing.

“So she’s hacking?” asks Freyja.

“Best hacker in the Milky Way, maybe better than the E.V.E.,” replies Makina. “You know, she once managed to hack into Xaos. We recruited her when we found out she can emit bio fold waves.”

“Wow, what an interesting story.”

Reina is breaking through the user interface, going into the source code, the nuts and bolts behind the programs that allow the Windermereans to watch the space around the Planet Vold. She continues to type into the holographic keyboards.

Reina could of course simply shut everything down. That would be very easy.

But would not be very stealthy. The Windermereans would be on high alert, and the young woman knows that the enemy likely has backup forms of hyperspatial communications.

This has to be more subtle.

She starts changing the code.

It is inserted.

A subroutine that would run on a loop, preventing the enemy from detecting Delta Team.

“We did it,” says Reina.

“Are you sure?” asks Freyja.

“We do not have the luxury of 100% certainty,” replies the hacker.

Captain Johnson receives the signal that the hack goes through.

“Begin hyperspace fold now!” he commands.

The ship folds and defolds, causing this double-vision effect.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being the only ones reliably immune to Var syndrome, Walkure and Delta Team sneak onto the surface of the moon Voldor. What will they find?

From a distance, Planet Vold looks like an aquatic world, like Ragna or Earth or Glorie. It has a blue color with patches of green and brown. Upon a closer look, one can see that it is in reality a gas giant, mostly made of hydrogen. A ring of rocks and ice surround it.

The second moon is an aquatic world, an ocean with several large landmasses. That is the moon Voldor, colonized by people from Tirol long ago.

The _Aether_ defolds from hyperspace near the planet. It approaches the ring, hiding inside.

“Listening in on the Windermerean channels,” says Jennifer Ramos. “No indication that they detected us.”

“Then we must deploy Delta Team and Walkure,” says Johnson.

A BLUE-trimmed Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried is lifted to the flight deck.

“Islander to Air Boss,” says Wing Commander Mulder, :”ready for takeoff.”

“Islander, you are clear.”

He takes off, joined by the other veritechs of Delta Team. Finally, a shuttle is lifted up. Inside are the members of Walkure.

“Clown Car to Air Boss,” says the shuttle pilot, “ready for takeoff.”

“Air Boss to Clown Car, you are clear.”

And the shuttle takes off, heading towards the moon Voldor. Mulder and Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang stay inside the ring system, while Squadron Leader Oilfield leads the others down to the moon.

Oilfield and the others are on edge, wondering if any Windermerean aircraft- let alone the Aerial Knights- will intercept them.

That does not happen.

After about an hour, they reach the landing zone.

The landing zone is a marsh, located about ten miles from New Westminster. The Siegfrieds land in guardian mode, the green canopies of the trees hiding the robotech war machines.

Hayate steps out. The air feels a little cool. He removes his flight suit, revealing casual civilian clothes. Mirage Sterling and Messer Oilfield do likewise.

The three pilots then open a compartment, taking out some machinery. They are Arimaki-Kakinuma VR-55 Cyclone veritech motorcycles, which can transform into suits of armor. These particular variants are light variants, used for scouting.

Hayate unfolds his Cyclone. It looks like a typical motorcycle. On the rear is a genuine Voldor license plate. The teen looks at the fake documentation provided by the United Earth Government, identifying him as Hank Iames. One thing Hayate read from his training, and in the meetings before he departed for this mission, is that the cycle does not transform into armor mode absent wearing the flight armor- which he is not wearing now because he is infiltrating Voldorian civil society. The Cyclone itself looks a bit beat up and worse for wear; Hayate recalls that many Cyclones left over from the last Robotech War are used by civilians as normal motorcycles.

Above them is the green, blue, and brown gas giant Planet Vold, as well as the Red Moon, so named due to the constant eruptions of lava, giving the moon a red glow.

“Here is the game plan,” says Kaname. “Oilfield, Nakajima, and Prowler will join me in infiltrating from the north. Guynemer, Wion, Sterling, and Immelman will infiltrate from the south.”

She taps a band on her wrist and it shows a map of New Westminster, the royal capital of Voldor. The city is bisected by a river that is crossed by many bridges.

“All right,” says Sterling, getting on the Cyclone. “shall we be off?”

“Wait, where’s Mikumo?” asks Freyja.

The others look around for Walkure’s purple-haired lead singer.

She is gone.

“She certainly is undisciplined,” says Sterling. “Shall we go, Miss Buccaneer?”

“Let’s go,” answers Kaname.

Kaname, Reina, and Makina all get inside this vehicle made of bars, and which sits on four al-terrain tires. Squadron leader Oilfield starts his Cyclone. Together, they drive off.

Freyja boards the Cyclone with Hayate.

“This is gonna be fun,” she says.

“Don’t crash into anyone, Immelman,” says Sterling. “Getting our boss on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in damages isn’t gonna be a smart career move.”

“Got it, ma’am,” answers Hayate. 

Oooooo

“Everything looks normal,” says Makina. “I would think there would be more Windermerean troops or something.”

“You’re right,” replies Reina. “Things look too suspicious.”

They and Kaname are riding in the off-road vehicle, while on one of the main arterials of New Westminster. They can feel the wind; their eyes protected by goggles. While there are vehicles, wooden utility poles, and lampposts, there are not any soldiers on the streets, let alone mecha.

As they approach the city center, the traffic gets heavier, the buildings inch closer to the sidewalk, the buildings get taller, and free parking goes from everywhere to scarce to nonexistent.

And then they pass by this large brick building, set maybe a few meters from the street. That building is none other than the Voldor Parliament House, where the supreme lawmaking body meets.

Also on the grounds of the parliament house are combat mecha called Bioroids, first invented by the Robotech Masters centuries ago. They look like giant suits of armor. The three women notice the Winderemerean flag patch on the mecha. The Bioroids are backed up by infantry who appear to be Cyclone veritech motorcycle armor, either left over from the last Robotech War or copies made by Windermerean industries.

After about ten minutes of slogging through traffic, Kaname sees an entrance to a parking structure serving some sort of upscale shopping center near New Westminster’s government district.

“Let’s check this place out,” she says.

She pulls into the structure and gets a ticket from the machine. She then drives along the concrete floor of the structure until finding a parking space, nestled between two cars.

“Wow,” says Makina. “I never knew spying involved a shopping trip!”

The three women use an elevator to reach the main level. They walk down the hallway to reach the outdoor concourse.

On two levels there are various shops and restaurants, selling everything from clothes to toys to electronics to fast food to fine dining. Many well-dressed people walk about. Kaname figures there will not be any bargain basement stores here like the kind of stores she visited before that fateful county fair concert which resulted in the Galactic Health Service hiring her to form Walkure.

“I can’t believe it!” yells Reina.

“What?” asks Makina.

“GamingDen!”

Across the walkway from a fish and chips place is a GamingDen, a store that specializes in video games. Several signs advertise the latest in video games.

“Wait,” says Kaname, “there are troops here.”

Standing next to the fish and chips place are two soldiers in light armor.

“Yeah, and they’re Voldorians, not Windermereans,” says Makina.

Kaname puts something on the tips of her pale fingers. “Watch this, ladies,” says Walkure’s leader.

She walks towards the soldiers, and they step back a bit.

She pretend to trip and falls against one of them.

“Owww!” yells one of the soldiers. The others raise their rifles instinctively.

“Oh, oh, oh, I’m sorry<’ cries Kaname. “I tripped. Please excuse me.”

She had placed claws on her fingertips.

She scratched the soldier’s wrist deep enough to draw blood.

And a drop of blood is placed on some sort of rectangular piece of solid plastic.

The three ladies go right into the GamingDen, entering the main room with shelves full of video games.

Kaname displays a hologram.

“Var syndrome,” says Makina. “Those troops are infected.”

While field tests are not entirely accurate, it is the best they can do. They know, from what happened in the skies above Planet Randor, that the Windermereans can control Var-infected people like puppets.

“Yeah, sure deters an insurgency,” says Kaname, “knowing that their own people will be used as shields.”

“This is great!” yells Reina.

“What?” asks Makina.

Reina holds a box. Makina and Kaname look and see that it is labeled _20th Century Classics_.

“It’s on sale!” yells the computer expert “I got to buy this!”

Kaname looks at the back of the case. It mentions characters like Pac-Man and Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog and Richter Belmont and Cloud Strife.

“The money we have for this mission is company money,” she says. “It must be shared with the crew.”

Ooooo

Freyja, Hayate, and Flying Officer Sterling leave the Cyclones in an alley and walk towards the pedestrian-only street. The buildings around are made of brick, rising maybe seven stories. There are several cafes and bookstores and coffee shops on the street. People sell various things from stalls. Huge billboards advertise artists’ lofts.

Most people here are wearing civilian-if artsy- clothing. Only two soldiers- both Voldorian- are here.

“Life is carrying on normally here,” says Sterling.

“These Windermereans are so not like the Robotech Masters,” says Hayate.

“Wow!” yells Freyja, immediately running to the stalls.

“Where are you going?” asks the flying officer.

Freyja is at a stall. She pays money for two apples.

“Apples?” asks Hayate. “You just wanted to get apples?”

“I love apples!” replies the girl, showing Hayate a red apple with some yellow spots. She hands one to Hayate.

“Thanks.”

“We got a message from Kaname,” says Sterling. “The local troops are infected, maybe the cops as well.”

“We could hold a concert,” says Freyja, “except the Space Force will just blast us from orbit.”

“So an all-out assault on the occupation support fleet, while you and Walkure sing,” says Hayate. “We’ll have to let the generals and admirals figure that out.”

“We’d better go,” says Flying Officer Sterling.

ooooooo

One of the streets in New Westminster is called Upton Street. On One section of Upton Street are some brick buildings, none of them more than seven stories high. One building, a large brick house on 10 Upton Street, is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Voldor.

Chancellor Roid Brehm walks along the halls, flanked by two Royal Guards wearing heavy armor instead of the formal uniforms that they would wear at the Windermere Royal Palace. Brehm looks around as he walks along the carpeted hallways. The decorations are fine, if of a different style than the Palace.

He walks into a conference room, and several people in business clothes are inside. One of them is a man with brown hair and a brown beard. From his memory of looking at files, Chancellor Brehm recognizes him as Prime Minister Huey Alder Devonshire.

A woman who accompanied Brehm speaks.

“It is my honor to introduce to you, His Excellency Roid Brehm, Chancellor of the Kingdom of the Wind, in service and speaking on behalf of His Majesty, Gramis Nerich Windermere, King of the Wind,” she announces.

“Please state your business,” says the Voldor Prime Minister.

“I want to talk, Mr. Devonshire,” says the Windermere Chancellor. “First of all, know how easily your own defense forces and the United Earth Forces fell to our attack. There was barely a fight.”

“I know,” replies Devonshire.

“Then I will announce our intentions,” says Brehm. “We have no desire to disturb the local power structure here. We will of course replace your Governor-General. Your Parliament will still have supremacy over Voldor. You will still remain as Prime Minister, as long as Parliament keeps you. The differences are that you will pledge allegiance to a king reigning from a city called Darwent, on a planet called Winderemere IV, right here in the Brisingr Globular Cluster, instead of a king reigning from a city called London, on an island called England, on a distant planet called Earth. And, of course, the Kingdom of Voldor shall withdraw from the United Nations. You will be liberated from the bankers and mediamen who control the United Earth Government for their own enrichment.

“The United Nations had potential. They defeated the Zentraedi armada, the hammerhead of the Robotech Masters. They joined the Sentinels Alliance to liberate worlds from the grasp of the Invid Regency, including this one. But they have lost their way. That too, was what happened with the Robotech Masters, when their leaders focused more on preserving their own power and privilege instead of maintaining a strong empire, abandoning their founding vision, even going so far as to suppress as knowledge of robotechnology and protoculture. Thus, when the Masters lost the secrets to protoculture, half of this moon’s population starved to death within twenty years. The other half fought bloody wars just to control the ever-dwindling supplies of protoculture and food. Even today, the population of this moon is not a tenth of what it was at the height of the Masters’ reign.

“And now the United Nations is traveling down that same, well-worn path.

“We, of the Brisingr Cluster, the region of the galaxy with the highest concentration of habitable worlds, should not be ruled by corrupt moneymen! We can make paradise here, Mr. Devonshire. We can eliminate war, poverty, hunger.”

“If you want to guarantee the independence of Parliament, like you promised, then I must leave that decision to the Parliament,” answers Devonshire. “They have been in session since your invasion; I shall bring the matter up with them.”

“Of course,” replies Brehm. “We will allow this as a token of good faith.”

ooooooooo

Hayate Immelman, Freyja Wion, and Mirage Sterling ride their cyclones along a road in the outer suburbs of New Westminster, closing in on where they parked the VF-31s.

“Wait,” says Hayate, slowing down. “Look.”

“Yeah, these trees have such hard wood, the people built houses around the trees instead of cutting them down,” says Flying Officer Sterling.

“No, at that.”

There is a VF-31 Siegfried in its battloid mode, looking like a humanoid suit of armor. At one of the houses, two children call out, both of them standing on a branch extending from the tree around where the house had been built. One of them seems to be singing.

The flying officer takes out a rectangular electronic device. “Let me see,” she says. She then projects a holographic display so that Hayate and Freyja could see.

“Wow,” says Hayate, looking at the display. It is a file from the U.N. Spacy Bureau of Personnel. “Captain Alberto Larrazabal, UNS. Commissioned twenty-three years ago, fought in the Battle over Haydon IV, awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions there. Served in support of the colonization missions after the Wars, and currently assigned here as a wing commander for all fighter squadrons around Planet Vold.”

“Come back to us, Dad!” yells one of the kids.

It is obvious whose house this is.

“We need to meet with the others,” says Sterling.

“Perhaps there is something you need to see.”

The flying officer looks and sees Mikumo Guynemer, wearing a cloak.

“Where were you?” she asks.

Mikumo holds a bug in her hand.

“So you collect bugs?” asks Hayate.

“Look closer.”

Freyja takes a look and the “Bug” is actually a very tiny robot.

“I was checking out a place called Upton Street,” says the Walkure lead singer. “The Windies are on watch for people and mecha, but not tiny bugs. Watch and learn.”

A hologram is projected from the bug. They see a video recording of two men in a conference room, along with some soldiers.

“That’s Chancellor Brehm!” exclaims Freyja.

“We, of the Brisingr Cluster, the region of the galaxy with the highest concentration of habitable worlds, should not be ruled by corrupt moneymen!” exclaimed Roid Brehm. “We can make paradise here, Mr. Devonshire. We can eliminate war, poverty, hunger.”

“If you want to guarantee the independence of Parliament, like you promised, then I must leave that decision to the Parliament,” replied the other man. “They have been in session since your invasion; I shall bring the matter up with them.”

“Of course,” said Brehm. “We will allow this as a token of good faith.”

“There is one thing I must ask. Your troops have occupied the Robotech Masters’ ruins. Why?”

“In addition to being a warrior and a chancellor, I am a scholar,” said the Windermere Chancellor. “I do appreciate the artifacts and ruins they left behind, before pride and hubris ignited their downfall. I once visited the surface of Tirol, toured the ruins of cities which, at their height, were grander than Ruraphin on Windermere or New York on Earth. Ironic by the time the Invid Regency had invaded Tirol, there was barely anything left for them to destroy.”

“We know what we must do,” says Flying Officer Sterling.

“Book a trip for Tirol on our next vacation?” asks Hayate.

“After we show this recording to Kaname and the others.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayate, Mirage, and Freyja are surrounded by the Aerial Knights.
> 
> How will they escape?

Kaname Buccaneer drives the vehicle on a motorway called M1, in the Kingdom of Voldor on the moon Voldor. Above her is the Planet Vold. Riding with her are Mikumo Guynemer, Reina Prowler and Makina Nakajima, ands riding of VR-055 Cyclones are Squadron leader Messer Oilfield, Flying Officer Mirage Sterling, Pilot Officer Hayate Immelmen, and Freyja Wion.

Mikumo had shown her the recording of Chancellor Roid Brehm meeting with Voldor’s Prime Minister in New Westminster. She decided that they needed to check out the Robotech Masters’ ruins, located about eighty klicks from the capital. Kaname noticed the road distances in Voldor are measured in something else called miles- a unit of distance used by ancient Rome, and some present-day civilizations on Earth, if Walkure’s manager can remember correctly.

After so many clicks, the M1 gradually turned from an eight –lane freeway skirting the heart of New Westminster, to a two-lane road. Farms line both sides of the road.

“We’re approaching the turnoff,” says Oilfield.

They all make a left turn.

“It should be seven more klicks,” says Reina, looking at the screen of an electronic device that she is holding.

“There it is,” says Hayate.

At the horizon, a tall structure can be seen rising out. It looks like it is centuries old. It clearly was designed to be more than just functional.

Normally, most people would drive up until reaching the main parking lot.

But the Walkure members and their Delta Team escort are not doing so.

Instead, they turn off an unpaved, very rough service road, with all of them grateful that their vehicles have all-terrain tires. The service road passes along the edge of a forest.

They stop and all step out of their vehicles, making sure to hide in the thick brush. The main structure of the ruins is maybe a few hundred yards away. The area is surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire.

It could easily fall to a car ramming through.

It can also easily set of an alarm.

“Time for me to work my magic,” says Reina.

She starts touching an electronic device. Alert boxes appear.

She does her best to hack the firewalls.

The firewalls of the UEF database, or the Enhanced Video Emulation System, would be too much for even her talents, and she suspects the servers of Windermere’s military headquarters were such as well. But the computer system responsible for the perimeter alarm protecting archaeological ruins.

“There!” yells the hacker. “We should be able to cut open the gate.”

“Immelman, you should have been ready,” says Squadron Leader Oilfield.

Hayate looks and notes that the squadron leader already has his heavy armor on. Hayate looks opens the Cyclone’s compartment, retrieving the armor. He places the chestpiece over his torso. He then fastens the arm guards and shin guards.

“Sit on the bike,” says Flying Officer Sterling. “It should be that button, remember?”

Hayate presses a button on the console of the motorcycle, located between the handlebars. The parts start to shift and move around him.

Soon, he is wearing the bike. He moves his arms and walks around in one circle.

“Got to get used to it.”

“There won’t be much time,” says Reina. “Every second we stand around here is everty extra second the system has to reset itself.”

  
“Then we must get going,” says Kaname.

Oilfield, now inside the Cyclone Armor, cuts the fence apart.

“No alarm,” says Reina.

They all pass through the hole in the fence. Squadron leader Oilfield looks around. There are so many trees inside the perimeter fence, so many places for scouts or spies to hide.

Several buildings have been built around the structure, possibly to monitor. The team sneaks up to a door. Accessing the control panel, Reina quickly opens it- and all the doors as well. The others look around, and no guards have come to intercept them. They walk through the halls, going down some stairs. Makina scans a concrete wall using some sort of device.

She then sprays this foam onto the wall. Wires are connected to a detonator, and she presses the button from a safe distance.

The foam explodes, creating a hole about twenty feet in diameter.

“We’d better get through before a patrol gets here,” says Kaname.

They all go through the hole.

They emerge in this huge chamber, at least six stories high and maybe three hundred meters across. The centerpiece is some sort of cylindrical structure, and there are what appear to be silos around the perimeter of the chamber.

“Who would have imagined this huge cave under the ruins?” asks Hayate. “And why are there all these silos.”

“We could ask the Robotech Masters who built the thing,” replies Sterling.

Hayate walks to one of the silos.

He notices something.

Upon taking a closer look, he sees a faucet.

He turns the faucet, and some clear liquid comes out.

He tastes it.

“It’s water,” he says.

“It also could have been poisonous,” says Flying Officer Sterling. “you could have dropped dead right there!”

“I wonder if this water is used for some sort of cooling system for whatever the Masters used this place for.”

“I found something,” says Oilfield.

“What is it, sir?” asks Hayate.

The squadron leader shows Hayate a bottle of water. “Gee, uh, thanks,” he says.

“there’s a whole case in this room. It’s a brand commonly used by the United Earth Forces. I’m not surprised the Windermerean military would use it.”

“That makes sense,” says Kaname.

“But why in this chamber?” asks Oilfield. “Why not out near a mess tent?”

“And where’s Mikumo?” asks Freyja.

They look around.

Mikumo has gone.

Ooooooo

Mikumo walks around elsewhere in the ruins.

“You are calling me,” she says. “Why are you calling me?”

She walks along this corridor, lined by stone walls. The corridor is at least twelve feet high; steel beams buttress the ceiling.

The singer finally arrives at this large chamber, over one hundred meters wide and about seven stories tall. There are tall stone columns. In the center of the chamber is a raised platform, maybe about fifteen feet wide or so.

Mikumo feels a synergy with this chamber.

Ooooooo

“It’s just water,” says Makina, looking at the hologram projected by her scanning device. “And it was bottled right here on Voldor.”

“Look what I found!” yells Freyja.

The others turn and see the singer with a wooden box full of apples.

Squadron leader Oilfield picks up one of the apples. “Galactic Apples,” he says. “Cheap and nutritious. The United Earth Forces often ships these apples to units in the field.”

“These are Windermerean apples,” says Reina.

“Windermerean?” asks Freyja.

“Little known fact. Windermere IV has the most land area best suitable for these fruits.”

“So our military’s been eating Windermerean apples,” says Hayate.

An alarm blares.

“Rei-Rei,” says Makina, “I thought you shut off the alarm.”

“They may have purged the system,” says Reina.

“Makes sense,” says Kaname. “that’s what I do when my laptop freezes.”

“We need to secure an escape route,” says Oilfield, standing up, clad in his Cyclone veritech armor. “Let’s go.”

“I suggest we gather as many of these apples and water bottles as we can,” says Flying Officer Sterling. “There might be a clue.”

“Sterling’s right,” says the squadron leader. “Let’s do it.”

So they all gather as many apples and water bottles as they can.

“I managed to lock down some of the doors and shutters,” says Reina. “It should delay them.”

“Let’s get a move on,” says Kaname.

They all run through the corridors, making turns to evade the troops.

Oooooooo

Mikumo looks around. A light shines from above.

She starts singing.

Oooooo

Freyja can hear the singing.

“Mikumo?” she asks.

“What is it?” asks Hayate.

Suddenly, a door closes.

“Freyja!” exclaims Kaname as the door shuts.

Squadron Leader Oilfield tries to pry the door open, but it is too massive, even with the enhanced strength from his veritech power armor.

“We’ll find another way!” yells Flying Officer Sterling.

She, Hayate, and Freyja run along the metal-walled corridor. Mirage aims a rifle, hearing some footsteps.

“This way!” yells Hayate, prying open a pair of steel Doors, revealing an elevator shaft. Freyja grabs on his back, and he jumps down, followed by Sterling.

They reach the bottom; apparently, the elevator car is still above them. Flying Officer Sterling pries open the elevator doors and they leave.

They are back inside that underground cave. They see the silhouette of a man in Cyclone armor.

“Squadron Leader, is that you?” asks Sterling.

“No.”

The man emerges. He had red hair reaches the shoulders. On his armor is the emblem of Windermere.

“So we have two Earth scum and one Windermere traitor,” he says.

There are other people in Cyclone armor, standing on a balcony.

They are outnumbered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An infected U.N. Spacy veritech pilot faces Hayate. Can he be cured?

Flying Officer Mirage Sterling, Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman, and Freyja Wion look up at the armed men on the balcony constructed around this huge underground cave.

“Listen,” Hayate says to them, “uh, we’re not soldiers. We just wanted to check out the ruins here. I mean, I never seen ruins of the Robotech Masters before, only read about them.”

The man replies by jumping from the balcony and knocking the teen flat on his back!

He then punches Sterling, knocking her a few feet back.

Two more people in Cyclone armor jump down.

“You traitor,” the red-haired man says to Freyja. “You will die.”

Hayate aims a blaster at the man, but he knocks him down.

Another armored man jumps down. He draws a sword and looks at Freyja.

She looks at the man; he has long blond hair and icy blue eyes. He looks cold.

“I will cut you down,” he says. “And then I will take you back to the fatherland where the wind will carry your soul away. It is the least I can do for a subject of the Kingdom of the Wind.”

“No!” yells Flying Officer Sterling.

The blond-haired man raises his sword.

Freyja’s eyes widen.

Is this the end of her singing career?

Her life?

Then she hears the clang of metal.

“We want them alive,” says another man.

“Yes, sir,” replies the blond-haired man.

Freyja sees the lavender-haired man in Cyclone armor. The man wears glasses.

She recognizes him.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” says the bespectacled man. “I am Roid Brehm, Chancellor of the Royal Court of the Kingdom of the Wind, in service of His Majesty, Gramis Nerich Windermere, King of the Wind.”

“Wow,” comments Hayate. “That’s a lot for one man to remember.”

“Indeed. I do notice you do not wear the emblem of the United Nations. You are not lawful combatants. You know, we captured thousands of United Nations combatants after their failed attempt to attack Windermere. As they were lawful combatants, we treat them in accordance with the treatment that all civilized sovereignties owe prisoners of war.

“By sharp contrast, you are entitled to summary execution. We will leave your corpses to rot in the swamp, feasted on by the local fauna.”

“You can’t do that!” yells Sterling.

“You can’t stop us from doing that,” replies the red-haired man.

“I do the talking, Bogue,” says the Chancellor.

“Yes, your Excellency,” replies the man named Bogue, standing stiff. “Sorry, sir.”

“Your Excellency,” pleads Freyja.

“Ah, Freyja Wion, I presume,” says Brehm. “Younger sister of the Lord of House Wion.”

“Yes.”

“How did you end up with Walkure?”

“Well, sir, it’s like this. My mother wanted me to marry this boy in a noble family, for some political alliance, so I ran away. I wanted to sing, and I heard about Walkure.”

“That boy must have been some creep, Miss Wion. You would not have so quickly run away if your mother betrothed you to Crown Prince Heinz.”

“Well, I…uh….well, I want to ask you something, sir.”

“Tell us what is it, young lady.”

“Spare Hayate and Mirage, your Excellency. I will go back to Windermere with you. I will face judgment in the King’s Bench.”

The singer’s plea is answered by laughter. The laughter continues for about a minute.

Ooooooo

“Signal’s jammed,” says Reina Prowler. “We can’t contact the _Aether_.”

“What about the others?” asks Kaname.

“They still have vital signs. They activated emergency beacons.”

“That’s not good at all,” says Makina Nakajima.

“Islander and Chef must still be worried,” says Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield.

He looks around a corner, and opens fire on some Cyclone-clad Windermerean troops.

The enemy returns fire.

Kaname clutches her right shoulder.

“Kaname!” he yells.

He sees the soldier who had just opened fire.

He returns fire.

The soldier runs away, and falls by a fail of fire slamming right into his back!

“Are you all right?” he asks Walkure’s manager.

ooooooooo

“Oh, Miss Wion,” says Chancellor Brehm. “Miss Wion, Miss Wion, Miss Wion. You are in no position to negotiate surrender. We have you all.”

Freyja’s heart races,

She can only hope the others managed to escape.

“If our deaths mean this war can be stopped, so be it!”

“Very brave, Miss Wion,” replies the Chancellor. “Very brave. I will bring peace to this galaxy, over your dead bodies if necessary.”

“We had peace since before I was born!” yells Hayate.

“You really think that because of an absence of conflict, there is peace?” asks Brehm. “Peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice. Injustice breeds injustice. Suffering breeds suffering. Vengeance breeds vengeance. And I shall make sure justice prevails across this galaxy.

“I will put an end to the circle.”

Oooo

_Cotton candy._

_Soft pretzels with mustard and cheese sauce. _

_Jumbo turkey legs._

_Corn on a stick with spices and butter._

_Deep fried ice cream_

_Apple wine_

_Such was the food served at that county fair_.

_Then he lost himself. _

_Blood on his hands. _

_And then that song._

_AXIA. _

“You okay, Messer?” asks Kaname.

Squadron Leader Oilfield finds himself inside the corridors of the ruins. They and Makina and Reina are here. The corridor is clear for a few meters.

They see a humanoid shape at the top of a stairs, cloaked in shadow.

The shape emerges from the shadow.

That is Mikumo Guynemer!

“We need to start singing,” she says.

“Okay, ladies,” says Kaname. “And a one and a two and a three…”

The four Walkure singers start singing as Oilfield looks around for any hostiles.

Oooooooo

Suddenly, Walkure appears in the underground chamber.

“What?” asks Bogue. He opens fire on them.

“They’re holograms!” yells another of the Aerial Knights.

They hear fire.

Hayate looks up.

“It’s Driller!” he yells.

The blond-haired Knights leap up to meet their enemy.

Hayate, Mirage, and Freyja waste no time in escaping.

Ooooooooo

Down below the rings of the Planet Vold, Wing Commander Arad Mulder receives a message and looks at his radar screen.

“We have a hole in the enemy’s orbital defenses around Voldor,” he says. “The ground team is requesting assistance. Islander to Chef, we are going in!”

“Copy that, islander,” says flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang.

The two men fly their Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighters up to the blue-green moon.

Ooooooo

Squadron Leader Oilfield is serving point for Kaname, Reina, and Makina.

He suddenly, encounters one of the Aerial Knights, the man in blond hair, who is wearing Cyclone armor with its telltale two tires on the back.

The men clash.

They make eye contact.

Their hearts race.

The squadron leader opens fire.

The knight jumps down and clashes Oilfield’s rifle with his sword.

They make eye contact.

“The reaper,” says the blond haired man. “I’ll kill you up in the sky.”

He jumps up and escapes.

Ooooo

Hayate and Flying Officer Sterling reach the exterior of the Robotech Masters ruins.

“They should be here,” says Sterling.

And then two Siegfrieds approach in guardian mode, summoned by remote control. The flying officer jumps right into the cockpit of her purple-trimmed veritech.

“Buckeye to Slacker,” she says. “We cover Walkure’s escape.”

“Copy, Buckeye,” answers Hayate, having gotten into the cockpit of his cyan-trimmed veritech.

The two robotech fighters lift off.

“Glad you could join us,” says Wing Commander Mulder.

“Driller to Islander, our band and the clown Car are still on the surface,” says Squadron Leader Oilfield.

“Clown Car to Delta Team,” says the Clown Car pilot, “I’m going in.”

“Islander to Chef, we will cover Clown Car,” says the wing commander. “Driller will stay with Buckeye and Slacker to protect Walkure until they can board the Clown Car.”

“Roger,” the others say.

Oooooo

Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere stands on the platform, facing the giant circle inside the Robotech Masters ruins on Windermere IV.

He starts singing the Song of the Wind.

Oooooooo

Once the fold waves reach Voldor, Delta Team can hear it.

“It’s that song,” says Hayate.

“Are we going to get hit by Var?” asks Flight Lieutenant Mustang.

“We should be able to resist due to our constant exposure to Walkure’s music,” says Mulder.

Oooooooo

Meanwhile, down along the exterior of the ruins, Walkure can hear that song.

“I am detecting fold waves,” says Makina Nakajima.

“It’s that same boy,” says Freyja. “This song has no color.”

“These ruins seem to be amplifying the effect,” says Reina.

oooooo

“I’m detecting some inbound bogeys,” says Sterling.

“We keep Walkure covered no matter what,” says Oilfield, breathing heavily. “We are not done here until she’s safe aboard the _Aether_.”

“They’re not Windermerean; they’re United Nations,” says the wing commander. “Engage.”

And so they do. Mikumo starts singing, followed by the rest of the band.

Hayate is right behind one of the U.N. Spacy’s Siegfried veritechs.

“Just a little closer,” he says.

The plane appears closer.

His sights are on the starboard wing.

He fires some laser pulses, and the plane falls towards the ground.

He sees a parachute.

Hayate sighs some relief.

oooooo

Meanwhile, Squadron Leader Oilfield is flying about, taking down another Earth fighter.

“Bandit on your twelve, Driller,” yells Mustang.

The squadron leader opens fire and dodges.

He looks at the enemy.

It is not a Siegfried.

That is a Windermerean fighter.

“The White Knight,” says Oilfield.

“Let’s duel,” says Keith Aero Windermere. 

“Slacker to Buckeye,” says Hayate. “Someone’s after me. I’ll keep him busy.”

He takes on the bandit, opening fire while dodging and weaving.

The two of them touch ground in battloid mode.

Hayate looks at the tan-colored veritech.

The man piloting this robotech war machine is none other than the U.N. Spacy’s Captain Alberto Larrazabal.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Walkure escape Voldor?
> 
> Will Hayate have to kill Captain Larrazabal?

“Captain Larrazabal!” yells Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman. “Sir, please snap out of it!”

“Slacker, what are you doing?” asks Flying Officer Mirage Sterling.

The Xaos pilot officer is dueling with a Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried piloted by a United Nations Spacy captain named Alberto Larrazabal, who currently is experiencing an outbreak of Var syndrome, and being controlled by Windermere.

“I won’t kill him,” says Hayate.

He opens fire at the periphery of the Spacy war machine, hoping to cripple its systems. The Var-controlled pilot is not returning consideration.

Sterling looks down. “I’ll keep you covered, Slacker,” she says.

Hayate approaches, firing his cannon at the periphery of the battloid while closing in; robotech barrier shields protecting the forearms.. Melee combat is his best bet of disabling the robotech war machine and sparing the pilot’s life.

“Alberto,” says Hayate, even as his battloid’s arms engage with Larrazabal’s battloid’s arms. “Please. Your children. Think of your children!”

The two Siegfrieds tumble on the ground.

Above, Flying Officer Sterling watches. She had decided to respect Pilot Officer Immelman’s wish.

She looks around, checking for any bandits that might open fire on them.

Ooooooo

Keith Aero Windermere continues his duel with the pilot with the grim reaper insignia. No matter what, he just keeps missing his enemy.

“The wind,” says the white Knight. “Something’s disrupting it.”

Oooooooooo

“I’m detecting something,” says Reina Prowler, looking at a holographic display.

“What?” asks Kaname Buccaneer.

“There’s fold wave disruption.”

“The ruins might be reacting to our song,” says Makina Nakajima.

“The local forces are still under Var control,” says Mikumo Guynemer.

Freyja Wion can see Hayate struggling against the infected pilot. He is pulling his punches top spare the pilot’s life; the pilot, in his Var-infected state, is not returning the favor in any way.

And they are so close, and yet Walkure’s song is not reaching them.

“Hayate!” yells Freyja, and she jumps down and runs towards them really fast.

“Freyja!” yells Kaname.

Oooooo

Hayate is struggling with Captain Larrazabal; the Var infection did not diminish the ace pilot’s skills, skills honed from initial flight training, V-School, and the Battle Over Haydon IV.

The Spacy captain backs up, and then opens fire, striking Hayate’s battloid’s head, damaging the sensor. He sees an ERROR MESSAGE 404.

Targeting is damaged.

If he opens fire, he might kill Larrazabal.

“Go home to your kids!” yells Hayate. He places his finger on the trigger.

“Hayate!” yells Freyja. “Stop!”

He looks and sees Freyja on the screen. “Freyja!” yells Hayate.

“Don’t shoot! The song will reach him!”

Freyja faces the other veritech.

“May my wishes reach you,” says the singer.

She starts singing a soft tune.

_You couldn’t catch up, so you always_

_Looked up at something from here _

Hayate listens.

The other battloid raises its cannon.

It aims at Freyja.

She continues singing.

Hayate’s heart races.

Will she die?

Captain Larrazabal is breathing heavily, under the effect of Var.

Hayate bends his battloid down to protect the singer with his robotech barrier shields even as the infected Spacy veritech pilot opens fire.

“I feel that wind,” says Keith, flying high in the sky, engaging Oilfield.

“Fre-Fre,” says Makina.

“I feel it,” says Kaname.

“Fold activity is rising,” says Reina, looking at a holographic display.”

Back on Windermere, Heinz can feel the song.

“Delta Team, keep the Aerial Knights busy!” yells Wing Commander Mulder.

Chancellor Roid Brehm can feel this song as well.

Captain Larrzabal continues firing on Hayate.

The barrier shields are losing power.

Then the song reaches the veritech pilot.

The veins on his face deflate to normal.

He breathes heavily.

“Leo, Mira,” he says.

He stands down.

Hayate breathes a sigh of relief.

Freyja continues to sing.

Reina continues to record the bio fold wave activity.

Up in the sky above the Robotech Masters ruins, Bogue Con-Vaart can feel the song.

“this is Blood Knight!” he yells. “I’m going in!”

He flies towards the source of the song and open s fire.

“I won’t let you harm her!” yells Hayate, switching his Siegfried into guardian mode and taking off, using his barrier shield to block Bogue’s fire.

The shield is destroyed.

Hayate switches to fighter mode and speeds up to intercept the Blood Knight.

Reina sees something interesting on her holographic display.

Hayate weaves about.

He opens fire on the Windermerean.

The SV-262 Draken falls, leaving a trail of smoke.

“He’s dancing with the wind?” asks Bogue.

He then focuses on surviving the upcoming crash.

A transport shuttle arrives.

“Delta Team, this is Clown Car, coming to pick up the clowns,” says the shuttle’s pilot.

Mulder and sterling land in battloid mode even as the Walkure band members run to the shuttle.

“Clown Car to Delta Team and Tour Bus, we have the Clowns and we are taking off.”

“Islander to Delta Team, cover the Clown Car,” says Wing Commander Mulder.

And so they fly off.

Keith notices this on his radar screen.

“You’re not getting away, Reaper!” he yells.

His Draken starts to rise.

“Old Knight to White Knight,” says Hermann Kross. “Stay here. Our orders are to secure the ruins.”

“Yes, sir. I will settle my score with the reaper later.”

About an hour later, clown car reaches the _Aether_ in orbit around Planet Vold.

“Clown Car to Air Boss,” says the pilot. “Permission to land.”

“Air Boss to Clown Car, we have locked on to your ALS,” replies the air boss.

The shuttle is guided by remote control onto the flight deck.

One by one, the VF-31 Siegfried veritechs of Delta Team land.

“Islander to Air Boss,” says Wing Commander Mulder. “Requesting permission to land.”

“Permission granted,” answers the air Boss. “We are locked into your ALS.”

The Siegfried lands on the flight deck. Mulder taxies it to the lift which then lowers the plane to the hangar deck.

“Delta Team and Clown Car are all safely inside,” says Jennifer Ramos, sitting at a console on the bridge.

“Execute hyperspace fold now,” replies Captain Ernest Johnson.

The _Aether_ glows, and then folds into hyperspace.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Johnson reports his preliminary findings to General Andrews.

“Ya know, Bogue, even with my four arms, it will take days to get this plane back to working order,” says Orgus. “Even with me having four arms!”

Bogue Con-vaart looks at Orgus as the latter inspects the SV-232 Draken veritech fighter, now much worse for wear. Orgus is a scalie- the indigenous people of a planet the Earth men call Glorie. The mechanic has green scaly skin with yellow spots, two legs, four arms- two on each side- and a head with four eyes- two in the front and two on the side. Orgus wears overalls, as well as special goggles covering up his side yes, so he can more easily focus his front eyes for delicate tasks, like examining a near-wrecked veritech fighter.

“That Earth man,” says Bogue, gritting his teeth.

“Ya know, we ought to send you the repair bill,” grumbles Orgus. “You always damage yer plane when you sortie!”

Orgus looks at the robotech war machine. It is hard to believe that at the time his parents hatched, no scalie on Glorie could have imagined robotechnology.

Or protoculture.

Or electronics.

Or engines.

Just half a century ago, the scalies on Planet Glorie lived in what humans called a Bronze Age society.

Since then, many scalies emigrated to other worlds.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Roid Brehm looks at the Robotech Masters ruins.

He had been right.

Soon, the Milky Way galaxy will know a new order.

Oooooooooo

Inside the Robotech Defense Command Headquarters on Planet Glorie, General T.R. Andrews walks out of his office and down the hallway. He enters a conference room which has a central table with built-in holographic displays and communications consoles on the left and right walls. His senior staff is all in attendance, dressed in their Class “A” service uniforms.

“We are now connected with the _Aether_,” says a sergeant sitting at one of the consoles.

“Bring them up,” says the general.

“Yes, sir.”

Holograms appear. Andrews and many of his staff recognize the huge green-skinned man as Captain Ernest Johnson.

“We heard you have completed the scouting mission on Voldor, Captain,” says General Andrews.

“Yes, sir,” replies the captain. “We have confirmed that the Windermereans are using Var syndrome to control the troops down there. I must also say this, sir. The Windermereans were controlling the Robotech Masters ruins and studying them. Furthermore, the ruins reacted with the song sung by Walkure.”

“Thank you. I am sure you can send a report to my office.”

“One more thing, sir. Both Walkure and Delta Team reported hearing a song that seemed to be broadcast via fold waves.”

The general glances at his staff. “We suppose we can share this. From the data retrieved from the SDF-5, the officers and crew reporting hearing a song being broadcast right into their heads.”

“And those ruins has something to do with it,” says Captain Johnson. “We can send your headquarters a more detailed report.”

“Thank you, Captain Johnson,” says Andrews.

Ooooooo

Mikumo Guynemer walks out, seeing Freyja Wion looking out into space from the Aether’s observation deck.

“Have you decided?” asks the Walkure lead singer. “Why you wanted to sing?”

“I will sing to heal people,” replies Freyja. “I will sing to set them free.”

Her soul is hardened by tis new resolve.

Oooooooooo

Dr. Naomi Singh places the sliced apple inside a plastic bag and seals it. She intends to send samples to the Health Service lab, where scientists with advanced lab equipment can run tests on the apples and find out if they have a connection with Var syndrome. Of course, the Health Corps commander will run her own tests here, to come up with a preliminary report, although the equipment on the _Aether_ is coarser.

And then after that, she will speak with Barry and the kids.

Her cell phone buzzes and she looks at the screen.

She sees a number.

She walks along the corridors of the ship, riding through elevators and a Side-A-Vator®™. She finally reaches the room.

Inside is a small room, with a bunk and a desk.

A tune is playing.

She sees Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield.

She turns on the light, brightening up his shipboard quarters.

Veins of his face bulge.

“How are you doing?” she asks.

“Keeping it under control,” replies the squadron leader. “The song.”

“I got the message,” says Wing Commander Arad Mulder, entering the room. He looks at the eyes of his second-in-command.

“You can hold on, Messer,” says the wing commander. “You always have.”

“Maybe not this time,” says Dr. Singh. 


End file.
